


Flood

by Darkprism



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal, Anal Play, Anal Sex, Angst, Angst and Humor, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexuality, Coming Out, Complete, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Fingerfucking, Fluff and Angst, Gay Male Character, Gay Sex, Gift Fic, Gift Work, M/M, Mild Kink, Mild Language, Nudity, Oral Sex, Original Character(s), Porn With Plot, Rimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-26
Updated: 2013-01-26
Packaged: 2017-11-27 00:15:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/655931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkprism/pseuds/Darkprism
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Uryuu Ishida's apartment becomes, he turns to his friend Chad for a place to crash. Angst, chaos, and seven levels of yaoi hell unfurl as Uryuu learns more than anyone else knows about strong, silent, sweet Chad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Ishida Uryuu stood in the middle of his one-bedroom apartment with arms crossed and brows knitted together in carefully controlled fury.

“Huh,” said the building super as he hitched up his belt. “Looks like a leak, all right.”

Uryuu shifted his weight and the carpet made a wet, squelching noise beneath his sneakers. He refrained from commenting on the other man’s astute powers of observation.

“Started in the bathroom?” asked the super, making a soggy path over to Uryuu’s small table, which was currently sitting up on blocks of wood to keep it off the carpet.

“Yes,” Uryuu said evenly. He’d explained all this in his initial, frantic phone call and really didn’t enjoy repeating himself. Coming home to find water running from beneath his apartment door did bad things to Uryuu's patience.

“Huh,” the super – Rick – said again. He flipped up a piece of paper on a clipboard and scribbled something. “Well,” he said after a second or two. “That’s no good.”

Scowling darkly, Uryuu rather thought he’d like to introduce this man to a few spirit arrows and see how “no good” that little scenario might be.

“Did it mess up anything of yours?” Rick asked, looking over at the vibrating Uryuu, who blinked and pushed his glasses up on his nose. 

“You mean other than my futon, furniture, a box of books, a collection of manga, and several towels?” Uryuu pretended to consider. “No. Nothing comes to mind.”

Rick pursed his lips. “Huh,” he said.

Uryuu wanted to punch him.

“Well, we’ll cover the damages and reimburse you for the lost property.”

“How kind.”

“Now, look, kid, it’s not my fault that your sink sprung a leak. I’m just happy you’re on the ground floor. Otherwise it could have leaked down into other apartments.”

“Oh yes,” Uryuu said, shifting his weight again and ignoring the moisture seeping into his Nikes. “I’d hate to inconvenience another tenant with my little monsoon.”

“I’m sure,” Rick replied dryly. Then he sighed. “Look, you probably already figured this out, but you can’t stay here for the next few days. We can’t technically force you out, but you won’t want to be here while we try to fix this. Got to rip up carpet, put down fans to dry things out, make sure the sub floor gets good and dry so mold doesn’t grow…” He paused to rub the back of his neck. “Might have to tear up the tile in the bathroom, too. How long were you gone before you found the leak?”

“Nine hours,” Uryuu said bitterly. Enough time to attend his classes, study at the library, run to the grocery, and then come home to find his apartment completely unlivable. The sack of groceries sat on the counter in the kitchen, and no doubt the ice cream was melted.

Rick whistled. “Yeah…tile’ll have to come up.” He eyed the young man. “You got family in town? Friends?”

“Friends,” Uryuu answered immediately. In a flash of bitterness, he thought his father’s solution to this would be to set him up a room in the hospital. Cozy thought.

“I’d call one of them and just leave this. We’ll dry everything out that we can, get it cleaned up.” Rick picked up his clipboard and squished over to Uryuu to have him sign the top copy. “I’ll call you as soon as it’s livable.”

Uryuu signed his name in a scrawl with the super’s pen. “Do you have a guess as to how long that will be?”

“Probably a week or so.”

With a sigh, Uryuu clicked the pen and handed it and the clipboard over. He was really, really pissed about the books and the manga. But truly happy he kept all his sewing supplies in plastic containers on the top shelf of a closet. Being a design major specializing in costuming and fashion would be a tad difficult without his collection of fabric and materials. Not to mention his design books and sketches…

“I’ll leave you to it, then. Got to go make some calls – and for what it’s worth, I am sorry.”

“Thank you,” Uryuu managed, turning to head into the bedroom to fetch a suitcase. 

Rick left and Uryuu slid open a closet door and stared at his Samsonite for a long moment. 

Who in the hell was he going to call?

Ichigo was out. His apartment was like a Shinigami train station – even after all the years of whining about it. 

Orihime didn’t have the room. She and Tatsuki lived in a little place barely large enough for the two of them and between Orihime’s cooking supplies and Tatsuki’s training equipment…Well, there just wasn’t a lot of extra space.

Not to mention that while Uryuu loved Orihime, the thought of staying a week with her, the cooking, and the love-struck looks between his friend and her girlfriend left him a little ill.

No way in hell was he calling Urahara. Oh _fuck_ no.

And that left Uryuu with exactly one option: Chad. 

With a massive sigh, Uryuu dragged out his suitcase and opened it up. It wasn’t that Uryuu didn’t like or trust Chad: quite the opposite. They’d been to hell and back again – sometimes quite literally – many times. Chad was a trustworthy man, a kind person, and someone whom Uryuu wanted at his back in a fight. 

But despite all the years of fighting side-by-side, all the drinking games with Renji and Shuuhei, all the strategy sessions in Urahara’s shop, and everything in between…Chad remained an enigma.

Carefully folding a shirt, Uryuu thought about what he knew of Chad. His real name was Sado, but he seemed to almost prefer Chad, now. Mixed heritage. Bad temper calmed by a fierce, determined, stubbornness and loyalty to a good cause. Hit like a wrecking ball. Liked bad Hawaiian patterns despite Uryuu’s attempts to convince him they were hideous. Uryuu could count on Chad to eat any and all tomatoes off his salad or sandwiches – the man had a real soft spot for them. And he tended to chew on peppermints because he didn’t like gum and apparently the big man was fixated on nice breath.

And last but not least, Uryuu thought as he folded a pair of jeans, Chad was the bass guitarist in the band A Lovely Death. Their recent run of successful gigs allowed him to move into a new place across town. The band was good – Uryuu and the rest of the gang regularly went to their shows – and definitely deserved their fan base and success.

But somewhere between the love of tomatoes and floral patterns and the strum of the guitar, Uryuu still felt a little lost when it came to Chad. Ichigo wore his heart on his sleeve. Orihime confided in Uryuu and often told him _too_ much. Hell, he even knew Renji well in comparison to the big, quiet man.

Which led to the next question: would Chad welcome such an intrusion as a Quincy on the couch? Just until his apartment managed to drain?

“Of course he’ll let me stay,” Uryuu chided himself out loud over the squish of his footsteps back into the living room and kitchen. He left his cell phone on the counter next to the ruined groceries. “I’m his friend, and he’s…nice.” 

It occurred to Uryuu at that moment that for all he knew, Chad could host orgies in his home every Saturday night when he wasn’t called away by band practice or a Hollow emergency and none of his friends would be the damned wiser.

And then it occurred to him that he was being ridiculous and he dialed Chad’s number.

“Hello,” Chad’s deep voice said pleasantly after the third ring. The lack of question at the end of the greeting made Uryuu smile despite the damp smell beginning to emanate from the carpet.

“Good evening,” Uryuu replied, feeling oddly compelled to be formal since he was going to ask a favor. “Is this a bad time?”

“No.”

“…right. Ah, well, I have a bit of a problem, and I thought-“

“What’s wrong?” Chad’s voice took on a few notes of concern. 

“Oh! Nothing serious!” 

Around Uryuu, the apartment dripped in its wet and unhappy chaos.

“Well, not _too_ serious,” Uryuu amended. “There’s no death involved or Hollows or-“

“Uryuu?” Chad interrupted. 

Uryuu coughed. God but he hated asking for help. “My apartment flooded. Apparently there was a leak under the sink in the bathroom, and I was gone all day so the water managed to make a lake in my absence.”

There was silence on the other end of the line. Uryuu picked at the corner of the soggy grocery bag. 

“And the super says it’ll take a week or so to get it back in order. They need to place fans and dry out the-“

“You can stay with me.” Calm, even, perhaps a little relieved it was nothing more serious.

“I can?” Uryuu said disbelievingly before he could stop himself.

“Yes.” Patient, decisive.

“Oh.” He rather thought it would take more convincing for whatever reason. “It’s for a week, so the super tells me. And I’ll need to bring some supplies for school…or I can leave them in my car and just take out what I – “

“It’s fine,” Chad said and Uryuu heard a dull noise in the background. Maybe a door opening?

“I really appreciate it,” Uryuu said with a sigh of relief. 

“Do you need help with your things?” Chad asked, voice slightly distant from the phone.

“No,” Uryuu replied, shaking his head even though Chad couldn’t see him. “I’ve got a suitcase, and I can manage the other things.”

“Then you’ll be here soon?” He sounded slightly worried by that. 

“Is that a problem? I can always go to the library on campus and kill some-“

“It’s not a problem. I’ll text you the address and see you soon.” Chad hung up.

Uryuu blinked and then clicked his phone shut. A second later, a text came through with an address and no other message attached.

Well, that was a little abrupt. And maybe a little strange. But then again, it was Chad: direct, polite, and mysterious.

It was going to make for an interesting roommate situation.

~*~

Uryuu killed the engine of his Honda and thought this had to be a mistake.

“You have arrived at your destination,” said Garmin.

“I’ve arrived at _a_ destination…not sure if it’s _the_ destination,” Uryuu grumbled, turning off the GPS.

The warehouse overlooked the river, and it wasn’t in the best part of town. Not the worst – but certainly not the best. There was a large apartment building across the street, and Uryuu thought maybe that was the right place as opposed to the large, black, imposing structure in front of his car. 

Then again, there was much talk about redoing various sections of the city in an effort to improve the overall standard of living. Uryuu looked at his phone one more time to quadruple-check the street number, and he confirmed that it did, indeed, match up to the shiny numerals near the only door he could see.

Getting out of the car, Uryuu smelled curry and saw that there was an Indian restaurant on the ground level of the apartment building across the street. People sat outside in a fenced-in terrace, and seeing people eat and laugh relieved Uryuu’s worries somewhat about the part of town.

Uryuu left his belongings in the car for the time being and walked to the door to try the knob. There was no intercom or anything else indicating that this was a residence, but the door opened when Uryuu tried it.

Inside was a short hallway that ended in a metal staircase leading up. To the right was another door, presumably to the inside of the warehouse, itself. Letting the door to the outside close on its own, Uryuu quickly walked up the stairs, his weight making the metal creak as he went.

The stairs opened onto another hallway, this one wider and wrapped around to run along the length of the warehouse. Doors with silver numbers on them stood at uneven intervals, and Uryuu checked his phone again and began to look for number eleven. 

Two silver ones marked the last door on the long hallway, and Uryuu knocked to discover the door was metal. The sound clanged and Uryuu’s shoulders rode up a little higher at the noise.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. And then the door yanked open to reveal Chad in all his gigantic glory. He wore a red and blue Hawaiian shirt with only two buttons done, an old pair of jeans with the knees ripped, no shoes, and a small smile.

“Hey,” he said, stepping back to let Uryuu inside. 

Nodding, Uryuu walked into the apartment and found himself pleasantly surprised.

The loft was spacious – at least twice the size of Uryuu’s place – and the floors were a warm hardwood that looked nice with the stark-white walls. Directly across from the door leading inside was a closet with a sliding door. A coat rack sat to the door’s right, next to it was a rather nice armoire, and the rest of the loft opened up beyond the front wall, the ceiling easily twelve feet tall and open to expose ductwork. 

There was another door to Uryuu’s right that he assumed was the bathroom. Running along the wall beyond the closed-in space for bathing was a kitchen of sorts: stove, sink, pantry, and storage all in a single line. There was a small table and two chairs in front of the line of appliances. A couch, TV, and giant chair sat in the middle of the room on a rug, and as Uryuu walked further inside, he saw that behind the supporting wall with the entry closet sat a desk with a laptop perched on top. In the very back of the apartment on the right was a treadmill, a set of weights, and a long row of half-sized bookshelves beneath a bank of windows that spanned the entire back side of the apartment. The shelves were full of books and movies and CDs, and the windows were covered in actual curtains, most of them drawn back currently.

But what interested Uryuu the most was the far left back corner. The entire space was occupied by a massive – simply massive – bed set on a diagonal from the corner. A wrought-iron headboard full of curls and swirls marked the head of the thing, and it must have weighed several hundred pounds. Surrounding the bed on two sides were gauzy, privacy curtains that hung down from tracks embedded in the ceiling. 

The curtains were deep maroon, the rumpled bedspread matched, the gauzy things around the bed were paler versions of the curtains, and most of the furniture was also a deep, dark red. 

It was, in a word, unexpected.

Not that Uryuu had any idea what he _did_ expect. But this just wasn’t it.

While the smaller man gaped, Chad closed the door and wandered over to stand next to Uryuu with his hands in his pockets. It was then that Uryuu noticed that the couch – also oversized, but then, that made sense: Chad was not a small man – was made up with extra pillows and blankets. 

“Do you have your stuff?” Chad asked.

“This is really nice,” Uryuu blurted and cursed to himself as he felt his cheeks tinge pink. 

Chad didn’t seem to notice or be upset by the shocked tone in Uryuu’s voice. “Thanks,” he said, looking down at his feet. “Rent’s cheap and fixed.” He shrugged.

Uryuu looked down at his own feet, frowning at himself.

_Cool, Ishida. Very suave._

Uryuu cleared his throat. “Thank you for letting me stay.”

“Welcome.”

“Need to get my suitcase,” Uryuu said, turning.

“I can get it,” Chad said, heading toward the door with long strides. “Did you park out front?”

“Yeah, but you don’t have to-“

“Keys?” Chad asked as he slipped on his shoes, cutting Uryuu off again. With a small frown, Uryuu dug out his key and tossed it to Chad who caught it without effort. 

“Need to move it to the fenced-in lot on the side. Be back.”

And Chad left Uryuu standing in the loft. For a second, he felt exposed and misplaced: like he was definitely intruding no matter what Chad said. 

“He said it was fine,” Uryuu muttered, turning to walk over to the couch for lack of anything else to do. He observed the folded blankets and thought the entire place was neat and orderly – another surprise. Not that Chad really struck him as the messy sort, but he was so careless about his appearance…strange clothes, hair that was forever too long…Uryuu assumed that the apartment might reflect the same carelessness.

But, in fact, the only sign of disorder was the massive bed which wasn’t made. From where he stood in front of the couch, Uryuu could easily see through the gauzy curtains and it looked like a herd of elephants had thrashed around on the mattress for a while. In addition to the other surprises of the evening, it appeared that Chad slept with his bass. The guitar lay on top of a sheet that’d been yanked off the bottom corner of the bed. 

The door opening made Uryuu jump. Chad walked in carrying the suitcase in one hand and both containers of sewing materials stacked on one shoulder. 

“Oh…” Uryuu said, moving to help. But Chad just set everything down like it didn’t bother him in the slightest.

Sometimes it was easy to forget the man could probably bench press a Buick.

“Thanks,” Uryuu said awkwardly, grabbing the suitcase handle. “I’ll be out to class and the like most of the time.”

“I’m glad you’re here,” Chad said simply, walking across the apartment toward the bed. He flicked the curtain back and grabbed his guitar.

“You are?” Uryuu asked absently, watching the big man grab a guitar case from behind the bed and pack the bass away.

“Sure,” Chad said. “We’re friends.” He snapped the case closed and looked at Uryuu. “Nice to have friends around.”

Uryuu smiled and nodded, thankful that Chad was being so gracious about this. For whatever reason, Uryuu felt bloody awkward and he appreciated Chad trying to make it easier.

“I’ve got practice,” Chad explained, slinging the case’s strap over his shoulder. “We play down in the warehouse. Place is pretty soundproofed, and the landlord likes to come listen.” Chad paused and smoothed one hand down the back of his hair. “If you need anything, that’s where I’ll be.”

“Thanks,” Uryuu said immediately. 

Chad just nodded once and walked by Uryuu on his way to the door. “Oh,” he said, one hand on the doorknob. “Extra key’s in the drawer in the kitchen.” Chad pointed vaguely to the appliance-and-fridge section of the loft.

“Thanks,” Uryuu said again, thinking he must have said that word more times today than he had in the last week.

“Sure.” Chad left.

Uryuu blew out a puff of air and pushed his glasses up his nose. It’d been a long time since he’d shared space with anyone, and he found he was nervous about it. And about bothering Chad – which seemed slightly insane as to anyone’s knowledge there were very few things that actually _bothered_ Chad. And most of them were the kind of bothers you killed.

But it was only a week, and really the place was nice. Uryuu would be his usual polite self and be gone most of the time, and Chad could remain of few words and many secrets and things would be…Nearly normal.

~*~


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Uryuu Ishida's apartment becomes, he turns to his friend Chad for a place to crash. Angst, chaos, and seven levels of yaoi hell unfurl as Uryuu learns more than anyone else knows about strong, silent, sweet Chad.

The next few days passed uneventfully. Uryuu went to class, checked in with the super, and cooked dinner a couple of times for himself and Chad. He thought it was a nice way to repay some of the favor.

Chad ate dinner like he did most things: more-or-less silently. That suited Uryuu just fine; he wasn’t truly a talkative sort, and it was sort of nice to have companionable silence instead of awkward pauses.

The only tricky moments came around bedtime. The apartment was a nice, wide, open space. But it was a little _too_ open when it came to things like changing clothing. Uryuu told himself that it was the height of ridiculousness that he was embarrassed both about changing in front of Chad and about taking his clothing to the bathroom to change. They were both men – adult men, at that – and had seen one another in far worse states than merely undressed: wounds on the battlefield tended to be an excellent excuse to cut away clothing, after all.

However, no amount of self-recrimination could make Uryuu feel any more like getting naked in front of his friend. And Chad either picked up on Uryuu’s odd self-consciousness and changed in the bathroom to make him feel more comfortable or that’s just what he did normally.

Uryuu rather thought it was the first one.

Which made him feel even worse as he was being a pain in the ass.

It wasn’t the sort of thing he could talk about or apologize for doing, however, so Uryuu kept his mouth shut and head down as he made his nightly runs to the bathroom to change into a t-shirt and pajama pants. 

The only other difficulty that Uryuu encountered was the fact that Chad often went about the apartment in only jeans or loose pants, and it was damned hard not to stare. Quiet and reserved he may be, but Chad was also an incredible study in how exercise and excellent genetics could do a body really and truly good.

But despite the slight awkwardness that came with bedtime and partial nudity, the mornings and days were easy. Uryuu woke up earlier than Chad and got himself ready and out the door to school or to study or to train. Chad did his fair amount of training as well, and he practiced with the band in the warehouse almost every night it seemed. Their busy schedules kept their time together to a minimum, which Uryuu thought was a good thing. He didn’t want to wear out his welcome too quickly. Someone as solitary as Chad had to feel stress at the change in routine that sharing space with a temporary roommate caused.

No matter how many dinners said roommate cooked, Uryuu thought as he pulled open the door into the warehouse and made his way to the stairs. It was three days since his first night at Chad’s, and Uryuu expected Chad would be practicing with the band by now. Uryuu thought about food and pestering his super again and didn’t think it unusual that he couldn’t hear music coming from the warehouse. The band often took breaks to discuss the line up or adjust things. He’d heard Chad’s band practice back in the early days when A Lovely Death first got together. 

Not to mention Chad had a point about the soundproofing – it was pretty damned good for an old warehouse. Apparently, it was much improved during the renovation process that rendered the second floor into loft apartments.

Uryuu made his way up the metal stairs on fairly silent feet. There was a trick to getting up the things without making it sound like the warehouse was going to cave in, and Uryuu figured it out on his third trek up to the apartment. He walked the short length of hallway, rounded the corner, and then stopped when he saw Chad outside the apartment.

For one split second, Uryuu was about to call out to the large man – say “hi,” tell him to hold the door, something – but then his eyes registered the other person in the hallway, and his lips smacked shut.

Uryuu didn’t know the other man – dark hair, slight of build, wearing a black shirt and jeans – but the stranger was obviously a friend of Chad’s. The kind of friend that one pulled in close, wrapped in a warm pair of arms, and leaned down to kiss.

Now Uryuu’s mouth fell open and he stood frozen in place as Chad pulled away from the stranger’s mouth, said something quietly, and made to disengage. 

But the stranger was having none of that; he grabbed Chad’s shirt and pulled him down again, this kiss more insistent. Chad seemed to resist for a second or two, and then his shoulders sank down, and he kissed the brunette back in earnest.

Uryuu’s brain screamed at him to leave – to get out of there, to stop watching. But his body didn’t listen. No, that traitorous bit of muscle and bone completely disobeyed the screeched commands to turn and run and instead slinked back around the corner and stared, mouth still agape. 

So…apparently Chad was gay. Or maybe bi. Or possibly unaware that his tongue was messily lapping against another man’s with lusty abandon while Uryuu looked on in wonder. 

Uryuu didn’t really think of himself as gay or straight or bi. He tended to go after the person more than the gender, and he’d dated his fair share of both men and women. None of those drinks or dinners went very far, however. Some of that was because one never knew when the world would threaten to end and Ichigo would call upon his friends to help him stop that from happening. Again.

But a lot more of it had to do with the fact that Uryuu was bloody picky. And difficult. And cautious. He liked his alone time, didn’t respond well to the, “Why didn’t you calls?” and oftentimes just taking care of the erection himself was easier than seeking out a companion who may or may not know what the hell to do with his or her hand or mouth.

Uryuu’s thoughts were interrupted when Chad quite suddenly slammed the stranger back against the wall.

_Oh holy hell that had to hurt…oh wait…no…he’s moaning._

The brunette’s arms came up to wrap around Chad’s neck, and Uryuu swallowed. He may not think of himself in terms of gay or bi…but he’d never felt more _gay_ than right now. So gay that he would willingly play the part of the voyeur even when at any moment one of the two nicely distracted men could turn his head and catch Uryuu red-faced and dry-mouthed. 

So gay that the temptation to stroke the erection that now pressed against the inside of his clothing was almost irresistible. 

Chad broke the kiss and pushed away from the wall, and Uryuu made a soft noise as he flung himself fully around the corner and out of sight. His heart was beating a little fast and he knew he was roughly eight shades of red. The sentence, “Chad’s gay!” kept repeating itself in flashing neon in his mind, and he had no idea what in the hell to do now. Walk around the corner like nothing happened? Turn tail and run? What if…oh bastard god of all things uncomfortable…what if Chad needed his room for a while? 

Like all night?

Not knowing what to do with all the new information that spawned all the new indecision, Uryuu ran a hand through his hair and stayed leaning heavily against the wall. 

_Oh hell…I should probably-_

“Uryuu?”

Uryuu let out an undignified yelp and stumbled sideways at the sound of Chad’s concerned voice. He stood with the stranger just behind him, and both men looked at Uryuu with a mixture of confusion and worry.

“Low blood sugar!” Uryuu said entirely too loudly as he regained balance.

“What?” Chad asked, brows furrowing.

“I was leaning…because…I haven’t eaten.” He pointed two fingers down the hallway. “But I was just on my way to make…did you want me to…?” He held up both hands. “No? Okay then.”

Uryuu barreled past the two men with a flaming face.

“That your boyfriend?” the stranger calmly asked Chad.

Uryuu walked a little faster and got to the door. He fished in his pockets for the spare key and cursed under his breath when he couldn’t find it. He’d used it just this morning to lock the damned door, it had to be here some-

“Here,” Chad said and Uryuu managed not to flinch as Chad calmly used his key to unlock the door and open it.

“Thanks,” Uryuu muttered. “See you later.”

“Just walking a friend to his car. Be back in a minute.”

_Oh God._

Chad left; Uryuu got inside and leaned heavily against the door. He felt like so many levels of dumbass that he truly felt he couldn’t count them all. 

_I just saw my friend – my previously asexual friend – make out with a hot guy in the hallway and then babbled like a maniac when he caught me. Way to act cool, Ishida. Good job there – might as well have put a sign over your head that says, “Inexperienced, voyeuristic asshole here! Step right up and watch him blush!”_

Uryuu took off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes with a thumb and forefinger. Okay…this wasn’t the end of the world. He just needed to calm down, pretend like nothing happened, and feign indifference. He wasn’t some stupid kid who couldn’t handle this situation like an adult. So what if Chad was gay? So what if he looked really, really hot when he threw that guy up against the wall and shoved his tongue in his mouth? 

It’s not like that should matter to Uryuu. He was only staying in Chad’s apartment for a few more days. Chad was free to do what he wanted for Pete’s sake: kiss guys, walk around half-naked, sleep in a tangled, sweaty, mess of covers on a massive bed not ten feet away from…

_Oh sweet jumping tapdancing Christ!_

Uryuu yanked his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed the super. He didn’t give a shit if it was late; this was an emergency of a sort. And Uryuu had the man’s cell phone number since his apartment was such a damned mess.

“Rick.” The man sounded weary.

“It’s Ishida Uryuu.”

“We’re still working on it, Mr. Ishida. Not much has changed since you called me yesterday.”

Uryuu shoved his glasses up his nose. “I realize that. I was hoping you could give me an estimate on when you expect you’ll be finished.”

Chad opened the door and came into the apartment, and Uryuu started to pace near the table and chairs.

Rick sighed. “Well, I was going to call you anyway. It’s going to take longer than we thought.”

“…what?” 

“Well, the sub floor was damaged, and we have to make repairs. And that’s not such a big deal, but apparently the tile we use in the bathroom – which we _do_ have to replace – is on backorder.”

Chad stood with his arms crossed near the couch, eyes down. That made Uryuu nervous so he turned his back on the big man so he could think straight.

“Backorder,” Uryuu repeated. “So what does that mean for the timeline?”

“Probably another week or two.”

“Two _weeks_?”

“Look, I’m sorry. I cannot manifest tile from my…” Rick paused. Took a breath. “I realize you’re upset, Mr. Ishida, and I appreciate that. But we’re working as fast as we can.”

“Yes…yes, sorry. I know you are.” 

“You got a place to stay, right?”

“For the moment,” Uryuu replied with no small amount of irony and worry.

“Well, I’ll let you know as soon as something changes. You have a good night.” 

Rick didn’t wait for Uryuu to answer. 

Clicking the phone shut, Uryuu turned around to face a very unhappy-looking Chad. Uryuu’s heart began to thud in his chest.

“That was the superintendent,” Uryuu said quietly. “It’s…the tile is on backorder, so it’s going to be longer than he thought until I can move back home. So…” he trailed off, unable to say something along the lines of, “So if you want me to go so you and your boyfriend can make out in privacy let me know, okay? Oh – and since when are you gay? Curious minds want to know!”

Uryuu mentally cursed and licked his lips.

“Is there something you need to say to me?” Chad asked, looking up from the floor to all-but glare at Uryuu.

Panic fluttered and blossomed in Uryuu’s chest, and he felt his face flush. “What do you mean?” 

Chad shifted his weight and gave a little frustrated sigh, brows knitting together. Uryuu realized that he could clearly see both of Chad’s eyes; the bangs were shorter. Maybe he got a haircut?

“About my friend,” Chad said.

“Oh,” Uryuu said trying to sound calm. “I’m…sorry that I…that I…” 

Oh holy fuck but how did one apologize for watching with blatant, sexual interest? Really…that was just not covered in any of Uryuu’s life lessons so far.

“I’m gay,” Chad declared. Somewhat redundantly in Uryuu’s opinion.

“Yes?” Uryuu agreed hesitantly, now a little confused.

Chad blinked at Uryuu as if waiting for him to pick up on some subtext. When Uryuu said nothing, Chad frowned and looked even more uncomfortable. 

“Is that a problem?” Chad asked finally, the words obviously an effort.

“No,” Uryuu said, shaking his head. This was not where he thought this conversation was going and now he was lost in the weeds. “Why would it be?”

Now Chad looked lost with him. “I don’t talk about it. And you’re staying with me. And when you saw me with Donovan, you looked…upset.” 

A dawning realization came over Uryuu, and he felt like a true, genuine jackass.

“And then I came in and you were on the phone with your super, so I thought...” Now it was Chad’s turn to trail off and look down at the floor.

“I’m gay,” Uryuu announced in a rush. 

Was it possible to be stricken with Tourette’s? Did that happen? Sudden onset or something?

Chad looked at Uryuu with wide eyes. “You’re what?”

“Gay,” Uryuu repeated, face bright red.

“But you date women.”

Oh yes. That. “Well, maybe not _entirely_ gay but…” Uryuu gestured vaguely with one hand.

“You’re bi?” Chad asked, and he sounded oddly…grateful? Happy? Uryuu didn’t know but it was probably a huge relief to the man that Uryuu wasn’t condemning him after accidentally outing him like that in the hallway.

“More or less,” Uryuu replied. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t upset that I cau – er, saw you two in the hallway. I was…”

_Turned on. Shocked. Thinking your tongue looked damned tasty._

“…worried that you might need the room. Or need me out of here so you could have your privacy. And so I called the super – “

Chad nodded and took a few steps closer to Uryuu. “I see,” he said and smiled a little. “I’m sorry – I thought you might not be comfortable with…me.”

Now that Uryuu knew Chad wasn’t angry about getting caught – probably because he didn’t know Uryuu not only happened upon them but also stood around and enjoyed the show – he felt a little less panicky. “You’re fine,” Uryuu said.

Chad’s head tilted a tiny fraction to one side. “I am?”

Uryuu thought that at this rate he would start losing limbs as all the blood flow was obviously focused up to his face. “Of course,” he said, trying for indifference. “It’s none of my business.”

“He’s just a friend,” Chad clarified.

“You kiss all your friends like that?” Uryuu said before he could stop himself. He winced a little at his own words. Sudden Onset Tourette’s: had to be.

Chad chuckled – a rare sound, and a quiet one. “No,” he said with a shake of his head. 

It was disconcerting to see both of Chad’s eyes so clearly and without the hair to obscure the solid, steady, dark-brown gaze. His eyes were huge and shone with a keen understanding that was calming in the middle of a fight but damned unnerving in this situation.

“Like I said: none of my business.” Uryuu turned and went to the fridge. “You hungry?”

“I just meant I won’t need the room. So don’t worry about having to stay longer.”

Uryuu didn’t say anything for a second as he pulled out a package of salmon. Then he turned to face Chad and found him standing a little closer, arms crossed and expression calm again.

“Thank you,” Uryuu said. “I know it’s not easy for you to share space.”

Chad walked over and took the package out of Uryuu’s hands. “It’s not hard. I told you: I like having you here.”

“I can cook,” Uryuu said, turning with a frown. “It’s the least I can-“

“Make the salad,” Chad said as he cut open the package of fish. 

“Sure,” Uryuu said without thinking, grateful to have a task. He didn’t ask any more questions or thank Chad again for letting him stay. And Chad didn’t say another word about Donovan, what Uryuu saw in the hallway, or anything else, really. They cooked dinner, ate in front of the TV, did the usual change-in-bathroom routine, and climbed into couch and bed to sleep.

Uryuu sighed and rolled over to face the back of the sofa. “Chad’s gay!” now warred with “He’s just a friend” in Uryuu's mind. He wanted to ask Chad how he categorized such people and knew how to kiss whom; wanted to know how Chad dated and kept it so secretive all these years. He was vaguely curious as to how many “Donovans” there’d been, and-

_It’s none of my damned business! Stop thinking about it!_

Uryuu punched his pillow and closed his eyes.

“Uryuu?” Chad said – voice breaking the silence with a low rumble. 

“Yeah?” Uryuu said back, eyes going wide in the dark.

“Good night.”

Uryuu sighed a little in relief. “Good night.”

Sleep was a long time coming.

~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this story a few years ago, and I confess, it's one of your Demented Tour Guide's favorites. I did it for Imlikat/Yaoiismy on a whim, and also as a reward for a friend of mine for getting through a very difficult language exam. I had so much fun with this one, and the sex scene(s) are still some of my favorites.
> 
> Ain't nothin' better than gettin' it on during a thunderstorm.
> 
> This was my first foray into the Bleach fandom, and, as such, the world is a pseudo-alternate universe. There are brief and casual nods to canon, and it is not set in my go-to AU, Monoshizukanohi, although it's close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades. Regardless, please be kind, as, well... it was my first time and all. *winks*
> 
> "Flood" is posted all over the place, most notably on Y!Gallery and my LiveJournal. There are also audio files, read by myself (as the narrator and Uryuu) and Imlikat (as Chad). We had entirely too much fun doing that. "Flood" also has a side story, "Coming Home," that I wrote a while after the main story was finished, in honor of Imlikat's battle to quit smoking.
> 
> Here be the links, should you be interested:  
> [My Y Gallery](http://www.y-gallery.net/user/darkprism/) \- must be over 18 and have free account.  
> [My LiveJournal](http://demented-dee.livejournal.com) \- check out the side bar for all the stories  
> [Free Audio Download of Flood](http://www.4shared.com/folder/Unh-MNl5/Audio_Readings.html)
> 
> Anyway, I shall be posted all six chapters in quick succession. I hope you enjoy and thank you for reading! The comments, kudos, and all else make my day.
> 
> ♥Dee


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Uryuu Ishida's apartment becomes, he turns to his friend Chad for a place to crash. Angst, chaos, and seven levels of yaoi hell unfurl as Uryuu learns more than anyone else knows about strong, silent, sweet Chad.

The next morning dawned through windows only half-covered by the maroon curtains, and Uryuu woke up like someone kicked him. His heart pounded for a couple of seconds, and he had to tell himself where he was and that everything was okay.

_Chad’s gay._

Uryuu rolled his eyes at his own mind, ever-so-grateful for that reminder. He shifted on the couch and saw that the bed was empty. Uryuu didn’t hear any noise in the loft, and found himself grateful that he was alone. He grimaced a bit at the impressive morning wood between his legs, and tossed back the covers to head to the bathroom so he could sort out bladder and erection and shower. 

Yawning, Uryuu rubbed one hand over the back of his neck – a little stiff from sleeping oddly – and casually adjusted himself with the other hand. The pajama pants didn’t do a very decent job of being discreet, and Uryuu made a mental note to find some sweatpants just as the bathroom door opened and Chad stepped out into the loft. His hair was still damp from his shower, and Uryuu could smell soap and toothpaste.

“Morning,” he said, looking at Uryuu with…was that amusement?

“Uh…” Uryuu said intelligently. 

Chad’s eyes flicked down and then back up, and the minute movement was not lost on Uryuu. 

_Be cool, be cool…oh, damnit! Why me?!_

“Excuse me,” Uryuu said, stepping to one side to indicate he needed the bathroom.

“Breakfast?” Chad asked, not moving. 

“Coffee,” Uryuu answered immediately, rather proud that he sounded so normal. Voice might be a little high, and his cheeks might be a bit pink, but otherwise he was the picture of No, This Isn’t _My_ Cock Straining the Front of My Pants. 

Chad didn’t say anything else, and Uryuu managed to step into the bathroom and shut the door with normal force. It was all so stupid, and Uryuu kicked himself good and hard as he went about brushing his teeth and turning on the shower. Both men, old friends, for crying out loud this shouldn’t be so fucking awkward! Was it just Chad’s calm stoicism that made it that way? The embarrassment from last night? The new information regarding Chad’s preferences? Uryuu still felt strange being the only one who knew that bit of insider knowledge. And he felt stranger about how hot it’d been to watch Chad kiss another man. 

Dismissing that as hormones and unimportant, Uryuu found he had no idea what one thing was making this uncomfortable. He thought it was some combination of all those factors plus his continual irritation of having to rely on someone else to help him since he was still out of his apartment. He didn’t like being dependent on anyone, and…well…

_Chad’s gay. AND hot. And this changes the game, now doesn’t it?_

With a silent snarl, Uryuu got into the shower and was mostly through shampooing his hair when he realized he didn’t bring any clothing with him into the bathroom.

He cussed through soap suds and wondered if everyone would find this so awful or if it was just him.

~*~

That afternoon found Uryuu and Chad at Urahara’s shop with the usual crew: Ichigo, Kon, Orihime, and the kids. Tessai made sandwiches and served them to everyone while Ichigo and Urahara discussed the state of the other worlds. Everything was relatively calm, and Uryuu found himself a little upset about that. A nice crisis would be a blissful reprieve from all the irritation of flooded apartments and his continual embarrassment around Chad.

“Hey Chad – when’s the next gig?” Ichigo asked around a mouthful of food.

Uryuu nibbled on one half of his sandwich and looked at his benefactor, curious himself.

The big man shrugged one shoulder and casually reached over to remove the top piece of bread from the other half of Uryuu’s sandwich. 

“Not sure,” Chad said as big fingers carefully removed a slice of tomato and put it on his own plate. Uryuu found himself transfixed by the way the smooth skin on the back of Chad’s hand moved.

“You’ll have to let us know!” Orihime said happily. “Tatsuki and I want to come show our support! And I’d be happy to bring snacks for the band!”

Chad nodded once and his eyes rolled to look at Uryuu as he popped the slice of tomato into his mouth before returning the top piece of bread to its original position. Uryuu met Chad’s gaze and then looked down at his plate, chewing thoughtfully. It was absolutely not the first time Chad had openly stolen tomatoes from him. Uryuu wasn’t crazy about the things, and so Chad usually chose his sandwich or plate to pilfer, which was fine by Uryuu. 

But something about the simple, slow act gave Uryuu pause this time. Maybe it was in light of what he now knew of Chad; maybe it was something about the way his friend moved slowly and deliberately as if asking Uryuu’s permission to take his food. Whatever the anomaly, Uryuu found himself wondering if Chad – for lack of a better term – liked him. As more than just a friend or fellow fighter.

It was an easy thing to dismiss or to rationalize away, Uryuu thought as he munched on bread crusts and lost himself down illogical rabbit holes. Chad had never said or done anything to indicate such an interest. He’d been a friend to Uryuu, but no more than he’d been a friend to Ichigo or Orihime or, hell, even Renji or the other Shinigami. Chad was even bloody considerate of Kon for Chrissakes. 

Nothing in Chad’s behavior had really changed that Uryuu could tell. Not really. So, Uryuu thought as he nodded at something Ichigo said without taking the time to understand him, if it wasn’t Chad showing interest or changing, did that mean… _Uryuu_ was the one whose perception was changing? Did he…have feelings for…

No. Of course not. That was just…

“Hey, Quincy!” Ichigo half-yelled, amusement lighting up his voice. “You swallow a bug or something?”

Uryuu blinked and shook his head, realizing that the table was staring at him. “What was that?” he asked, scowling a little at being the center of attention. 

Ichigo rolled his eyes and kept talking strategy interspersed with news from Soul Society. Uryuu didn’t really remember the rest of the conversation later, but he did know that somehow he neglected to mention that his apartment was flooded and he was staying with Chad for the time being. It just never came up, and Uryuu didn’t want to appear like he was complaining. That would be…uncool.

~*~

Uryuu had no idea how he was going to get everything done. He had a portfolio review in less than a week, three designs to mock up, an exam in the damnable anthropology class he took to fulfill hour requirements, and he just spent four hours in the design building using a sewing machine that made dirt look young.

Add in the emergency meeting at Urahara’s last night to discuss a nasty surge of Hollow activity that had Ichigo away and everyone else on alert, and Uryuu was really and truly exhausted and overwrought.

Throwing his Honda into park, Uryuu got out and grabbed the leather portfolio case from the backseat. None of this would be as problematic if he could work on his own machine back in the comfort of his own apartment. Uryuu’d been at Chad’s for ten days, now, and while the couch was comfortable and there was plenty of space for two people, Uryuu still had difficulties dealing with the impromptu roommate situation. 

Ever since what Uryuu thought of as the Morning Wood and Tomatoes Incident, he and Chad kept their distance from one another. Chad seemed occupied with the band – getting ready for another gig - and there was talk of an agent who wanted to pass on a demo to a studio. Everyone was thrilled at that prospect, though Chad remained his usual reserved self as he spoke of the news. Uryuu was relieved that Donovan never reappeared, nor did any other potential make-out candidate. They never spoke of what happened, preferring to keep to their quiet routine of dinner, TV, and sleep when their schedules matched up and allowed it.

Aside from music and his time with Uryuu, Chad appeared to be training and exercising a lot. Not that Uryuu ever actually saw him use the home gym, but Uryuu took it upon himself to do the laundry, and he found plenty of work-out clothing in the sorting.

…he also found more than one pair of black silk boxers, but he tried not to think about that. Laundry was just another way he could repay Chad the favor of letting him stay, and since it looked like his apartment wasn’t going to be ready anytime soon, Uryuu felt a strong need to repay said favor.

Rolling his eyes, Uryuu opened the door the warehouse and trudged up the stairs. First the flood…then the tile…and now, apparently, there was some problem with the seal around the toilet. It had to be repaired in full, and the tile wouldn’t be in for at least another week. Rick and Uryuu were barely civil to one another these days, but Rick did tell him that the building would cover rent for the weeks Uryuu lived elsewhere.

Uryuu didn’t say the, “Damned right you will!” that sprang to mind after Rick told him that, but being polite was getting harder by the day.

Mind whirling with an ever-growing to-do list, Uryuu found the door to the loft unlocked. It was just past eight, so perhaps band practice was canceled for the night. Setting down the portfolio, Uryuu toed off his shoes and noted the bathroom door was closed and that the shower was running. 

Well, that explained where Chad was. Uryuu walked over to the kitchen area and contemplated the contents of the fridge. He needed to eat something, and Chad was always hungry. Looking over at the treadmill, Uryuu saw Chad’s Ipod and earphones dangling from the rails. Work out, shower…yeah, Chad would definitely be hungry.

Uryuu found something frozen and quick and began making dinner. After a few minutes, the shower shut off. But Uryuu was mentally going over the mock-ups in his mind and didn’t pay that much attention. He stirred thawing vegetables and it wasn’t until the bathroom door opened that he pulled away from thoughts.

“Hey,” Uryuu said. “Thought I would fix some – “ 

Uryuu paused at the sight of Chad wearing only a towel. A small towel, at that, though really the man would need a beach blanket for the towel-to-body ratio to work out properly.

“...dinner,” Uryuu finished, looking away. He was not going to think about the way Chad’s hair hung in his eyes and dripped. Nor would he think about the long, muscled expanse of hip and thigh revealed by the towel. 

“Smells good,” Chad commented and padded across the loft. The storage options in the space were odd and limited, and Chad kept some of his clothing in a closet at the end of the kitchen. More clothing was in the armoire near the door, and there was another small chest sitting next to the bed. 

Chad rummaged in the closet to Uryuu’s left, and Uryuu found himself sneaking glances despite himself. There was surprisingly little body hair to be seen, but Uryuu noted damp, dark curls that started just beneath Chad’s navel and disappeared under the red towel. His legs were covered in soft, brown curls, too – which Uryuu knew, of course – but now he noticed a distinct sock line around both of Chad’s ankles where hair stopped and smooth, tanned skin started. And even though Uryuu had seen them before, the abdominal muscles were sinful, and he rather liked the way they attached to the tendons and muscles of Chad’s back. Everything moved with a fluid synchronicity studied by thousands of artists and now one very distracted Quincy.

The skillet hissed as the vegetables began to stick to the pan, and Uryuu quickly poured in more oil and tossed the food. He felt warm all over and knew it wasn’t just proximity to the damned stove.

“Does this bother you?” 

Uryuu looked over at Chad, who now stood facing Uryuu holding the towel closed with one hand and holding a pair of jeans in the other. He shook his head while Uryuu watched and flung back his wet hair. The shock of seeing Chad’s forehead and slicked-back curls left Uryuu a little speechless.

_Goddamn…when did he get so…tempting?_

“N-no,” Uryuu said, knowing that Chad meant his break in the change-in-the-bathroom routine. “It’s your home. You should do what makes you comfortable.” And Uryuu believed that, and hated that he’d obviously interrupted Chad’s daily life.

“Good,” Chad said, sounding somewhat relieved. And he dropped the towel.

Oil splashed out on Uryuu’s hand and he used it as an excuse to hiss and curse, eyes wrenching themselves away from long lines of flesh to focus on a tiny red spot on his own pale skin. 

_Good to know everything’s in bloody proportion._

Uryuu shook his head, firmly focused on the food, and ignored Chad moving in his peripheral vision. 

Getting all flustered over a friend’s nudity was not allowed, so Uryuu refused to acknowledge his burning cheeks and attempted to keep his expression neutral.

“Your super called,” Chad said, voice closer. He leaned on the counter and watched Uryuu cook.

“What, called you?” Uryuu asked.

“On the landline.”

“Oh,” Uryuu said. “Right – I forgot. I gave him that number as a backup in case he couldn’t reach my cell.” 

“It’s fine,” Chad said with a shrug. “He said they had to move some of your things to storage, and he wondered if you needed anything.”

“Shit,” Uryuu snarled, uncharacteristically rude. He tossed the skillet off the hot eye with a scowl. “When was that?” God but he didn’t want to go back out tonight. He had so much work to do, and things were quickly getting overwhelming. What with the to-do list and school and the nudity and all.

“Earlier,” Chad said vaguely. “I went and picked up some things.”

Uryuu’s head snapped to look at Chad with a small frown. “You what?”

Chad looked down and then gestured across the loft. Uryuu turned and followed the path of Chad’s arm to find two more suitcases, another crate of sewing material, a box of what appeared to be books and various other things, and a sewing machine that now sat on Chad’s desk.

Uryuu stared, dumbfounded.

“I didn’t know what you’d need,” Chad said quietly after a moment.

“My machine,” Uryuu said. Then he laughed a little. “You got my machine!”

Chad stared at Uryuu and then nodded slowly.

Uryuu brought one hand up to cover his grin. This was amazing – life saving, actually. He could get his work done without having to use the damned school equipment, and he could start tonight. That would save time and energy and put off Uryuu’s impending nervous breakdown.

Crossing over to the desk, Uryuu touched the suitcases and then the machine on Chad’s desk. Relief washed warm and welcome over Uryuu, and he sighed. 

“Clothes?” he asked, looking back at the suitcases.

“Yeah,” Chad said. “Figured…you know.”

Uryuu nodded, finding it a little funny how he was adopting some of Chad’s speech patterns. But, as long as they understood one another…

Uryuu glanced down in the box of miscellaneous items and saw with no small amount of embarrassment an old, stuffed toy his grandfather made him. It was supposed to be a cat, in theory, but it looked more like a well-loved and long-worn ball of fluff with small black eyes and tail. Uryuu had rescued the animal off the ruined futon upon first arriving at his apartment, and apparently Chad had retrieved it from the windowsill. For slowly solidifying reasons, the fact that Chad saw that and recognized it as important was enough to double the warm feeling circulating in Uryuu’s veins.

“Thanks,” Uryuu said, looking back at Chad, who stood near the couch with his hands in his pockets and body tense. Muscles moved and rippled as he visibly relaxed, and he smiled at Uryuu. 

“Looks like I’m moving in!” Uryuu joked, trying to break the tension and ease the flush on his face. Then he realized how that sounded. “Er, I mean…”

“Yeah,” Chad replied smoothly, letting it be just a joke. “Do you need more?” 

Uryuu frowned for a second as he interpreted that. “No, I think I have everything I need here.”

Silence swelled and swayed between the two men, and Uryuu finally cleared his throat. “I have a review and need to make mock-ups. This really, really helps. I don’t know how to thank you.” He smiled at Chad, warm and genuine. “You’re a lifesaver off the battlefield too, apparently.”

Chad blushed bright red over tanned cheeks. Uryuu felt no small amount of satisfaction at that, especially since Chad’s bare chest and low-slung jeans were making it difficult to look at him without wandering eyes.

“Dinner?” Chad asked, half turning back toward the kitchen. “I’ll finish. You work.”

Uryuu opened his mouth to argue, but really, he had so much to do. And sometimes being polite meant letting someone else do the work.

“Fine,” he said good-naturedly. “I hope the sound of the machine doesn’t bother you.” 

“It won’t,” Chad replied as he reached the stove.

Uryuu snorted a little as he got his portfolio and then began sorting through boxes. Chad’s unwavering surety about what he did and did not like and what he did and did not want was oddly comforting. But how he managed such a keen understanding of self remained a mystery to Uryuu. Uryuu found himself off-balance and more self-conscious than usual as of late, and he tried hard not to think about what that meant. He didn’t want to admit anything to himself just yet, because it would change things. And Uryuu didn’t really like change. 

But as Uryuu sorted out fabric, he thought that Chad himself was becoming less and less an enigma as they spent more time together. And that, he thought, was really quite nice, indeed.

~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this story a few years ago, and I confess, it's one of your Demented Tour Guide's favorites. I did it for Imlikat/Yaoiismy on a whim, and also as a reward for a friend of mine for getting through a very difficult language exam. I had so much fun with this one, and the sex scene(s) are still some of my favorites.
> 
> Ain't nothin' better than gettin' it on during a thunderstorm.
> 
> This was my first foray into the Bleach fandom, and, as such, the world is a pseudo-alternate universe. There are brief and casual nods to canon, and it is not set in my go-to AU, Monoshizukanohi, although it's close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades. Regardless, please be kind, as, well... it was my first time and all. *winks*
> 
> "Flood" is posted all over the place, most notably on Y!Gallery and my LiveJournal. There are also audio files, read by myself (as the narrator and Uryuu) and Imlikat (as Chad). We had entirely too much fun doing that. "Flood" also has a side story, "Coming Home," that I wrote a while after the main story was finished, in honor of Imlikat's battle to quit smoking.
> 
> Here be the links, should you be interested:  
> [My Y Gallery](http://www.y-gallery.net/user/darkprism/) \- must be over 18 and have free account.  
> [My LiveJournal](http://demented-dee.livejournal.com) \- check out the side bar for all the stories  
> [Free Audio Download of Flood](http://www.4shared.com/folder/Unh-MNl5/Audio_Readings.html)
> 
> Anyway, I shall be posted all six chapters in quick succession. I hope you enjoy and thank you for reading! The comments, kudos, and all else make my day.
> 
> ♥Dee


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Uryuu Ishida's apartment becomes, he turns to his friend Chad for a place to crash. Angst, chaos, and seven levels of yaoi hell unfurl as Uryuu learns more than anyone else knows about strong, silent, sweet Chad.

“I’m sorry, can you repeat that?” Uryuu asked, taking off his glasses and pressing the back of his wrist to his forehead.

“Your bathtub went through the floor,” Rick said again, somewhat patiently and with a tiny hint of amusement. “It landed on top of a generator in the basement. Quite the mess.”

“And how, exactly, did that happen?”

“Weakened floor. Poor construction. Floor wasn’t meant to carry the weight of a solid porcelain tub, and they didn’t think about that when they updated these apartments with fancier fixings.”

“…but it’s a _floor_ ,” Uryuu said uncomprehendingly. “You _walk_ on it. How could a…but…I mean…?”

Rick chuckled. “Believe me, son: I understand. The crew I’ve got working on your place is starting to circulate rumors that the building’s jinxed. And while we’re on the subject of good news: the tile came in.”

“Well, that’s something,” Uryuu said, putting his glasses back on.

“Oh, it’s something all right,” Rick said, sounding highly amused. “It’s something bright bloody pink.”

“What?” Uryuu deadpanned.

“Wrong tile. The entire pallet was the wrong damned tile. I mean, at some point, kid, you just got to laugh at the situation because there’s nothing else to do.”

Uryuu refrained from commenting on that. 

“’cause now we have wrong tile, a hole in the floor, a crushed generator, and flying pigs.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Rick sighed. “Nothing. Just a joke, kid. Look: we have to completely rebuild the bathroom, reorder tile, and I don’t even want to tell you when it’ll be done because I can’t make a guess anymore. Sometime between now and Christmas.”

“It’s April.”

“Exactly.”

Uryuu sighed. “I trust the building will cover the rent?”

“Oh yeah, we’ll cover it. And there’s a check waiting for you at the front office to cover the cost of damages to your personal possessions. I’m just happy we got most of that stuff out of here and into storage before the floor collapsed.”

“Truly,” Uryuu agreed.

“Well, I have to go. The contractor’s calling me on the other line. Probably going to tell me the ceiling just caved in or maybe they found buried treasure in the damned closet wall. I’ll keep you updated on progress.”

“Thank you,” Uryuu said, resigned.

Rick hung up and Uryuu set the handset down on the shelves under the windows of Chad’s apartment. 

It was official: Uryuu was never going home. 

Resting his forehead against the glass, Uryuu sighed. It was Saturday morning, and the sun gleamed on the water of the river next to the warehouse. On the other side of the glimmering flow was a little park, and Uryuu could see mothers with their children and couples walking dogs. It was nice to see such simple happiness; it took Uryuu’s mind off Rick’s words and made him feel a little less helpless.

Next Tuesday would mark an entire month of Uryuu living with Chad, and while his friend showed no sign of being annoyed with that arrangement, Uryuu lived day to day waiting for the other shoe to fall. 

Everything was so damned complicated and yet so amazingly simple. Living in the loft with Chad allowed Uryuu freedom to keep his schedule as he liked, work on school projects, use Chad’s treadmill when he felt a little cagey, and generally live as he would alone. 

Except, of course, that Chad was there, too, like a semi-pleasant weight in the back of Uryuu’s mind. He would go along and sort of forget that he was imposing on his friend only to be reminded of it when he was changing for bed, (which Uryuu still did in the bathroom despite the fact that Chad dropped the pretense entirely and often walked around completely nude. Uryuu had nearly sewn his fingers together on more than one occasion because of that little distraction) or cooking dinner or some other random moment. Such times made Uryuu distinctly uncomfortable and guilty because Chad seemed affected by them, too. When Uryuu got nervous or uneasy, Chad echoed those emotions with tensing shoulders and shifty glances before he left to go practice in the warehouse and leave Uryuu alone in his discomfort.

But other than those few hiccoughs, Chad seemed content with their living arrangement. He never complained, often told Uryuu that he could manage dinner or laundry or the cleaning so that Uryuu could focus on schoolwork, and he genuinely didn’t seem to mind the long hours spent just watching TV or reading on the couch. Uryuu was getting very good at understanding Chad’s subtle tells to indicate mood, and he knew that Chad was comfortable and only occasionally on edge.

And God, but those edgy moments were aggravating. Sometimes they came out of the blue without rhyme or reason. But sometimes they followed an accidental touch or similar awkward moment. And every time such an event happened and Chad would get that _look_ – like he was holding back, just barely containing something, trying to keep his mouth shut or hands to himself – Uryuu would be thrown into a whirlwind of trying to figure out what he felt and then second-guessing what his friend may or may not feel.

Because goodness knew Chad didn’t _talk_ about such things. 

Uryuu scowled, stalked over to the desk, and sat. He picked up a pencil and mindlessly traced lines on his sketchpad. It wasn’t like he was any better about voicing what he felt, and Uryuu knew that. But at least he would let a compliment slip on occasion or sometimes purposefully say something that could be taken two ways. 

But Chad never said _anything._

And that meant Uryuu spent far too much time weighing and calculating his actions. For instance: was it a sign of something more than friendship that Chad kept bringing things from Uryuu’s apartment back to the loft? At first glance, the answer was, “Yes.” However: Chad drove a truck, had more free time than Uryuu, could lift much heavier things, and none of the items were frivolous. Chad brought Uryuu his desk chair after Uryuu commented that Chad’s sat too low to the ground to work with the sewing machine. And he went by and found two bolts of fabric in the storage building the day after Uryuu mentioned he might need the cloth for a school project.

Again – perhaps these actions could mean more, but then Orihime would call and ask Chad to come over just to try a bite of a new recipe, and off Chad went like it wasn’t a big deal to drive across town for a nibble of food. So Uryuu would reset the scale and start all over.

Letting go of a little groan, Uryuu put his head down on his sketchbook. It would be so much nicer if Chad would just tell him: “I don’t have Donovan or any other man over or go out because I want to kiss _you_.” Or maybe, “Yes, I’m just as aware as you are that I sit a little too close on the couch when we watch TV because I want to pull you to me and hold you while Adam and Jamie work out fact from fiction on _Mythbusters_.”

“Never going to happen,” Uryuu muttered, and he damned his own hesitation for the millionth time. But he just couldn’t make the first move on a friend. Not when he was still unsure; Uryuu just didn’t have that sort of confidence in the dating realm. Or the physical realm, for that matter. And it didn’t help that about the time that he was desperate enough to do _something_ , his mind would start making a list of things that supported and denied that Chad might return Uryuu’s desires, and well…

It rendered Uryuu frustrated and unable to act.

And so here he was: stuck in living-in-the-loft limbo and continually trying to put all that shit out of his mind so he could focus on his work and training and trying not to set Chad on edge. Uryuu was still here by Chad’s good graces, after all, regardless of his hypothetical ulterior motives.

The door to the apartment opened, and immediately Uryuu sat up and started sketching. Chad didn’t say anything – but that wasn’t unusual. Instead, Uryuu tracked the familiar noises of Chad’s shoes hitting the floor and then his footsteps heading to the bathroom. Probably going to take a shower. Chad bathed an inordinate amount, Uryuu noticed. 

Sighing a little, Uryuu went back to work. Chad and his band had a gig tonight, and Uryuu and the usual cast of suspects were supposed to go and show support. Uryuu looked forward to it, actually: he liked watching Chad play and often wished the man would practice in the loft instead of down in the warehouse. He lacked the confidence to ask Chad to change his routine, however, so he contented himself with going to the shows.

But he needed to get some things done if he was going to take a night off for the gig. The portfolio review had gone very well, and he was clear to start putting his pieces into production as part of the final exam in his design class. It was a lot of work, but manageable. 

Ten minutes later the landline began to ring. Uryuu looked up but didn’t move to answer it; Chad often ignored calls to the apartment phone as they were sales calls. And despite the weeks of living with Chad, Uryuu was still fairly sure their friends were unaware of their arrangement. He didn’t know why, exactly, he felt the need to keep that on the down low, but there it was.

The answering machine near Chad’s bed picked up after the fifth ring.

“Yo – pick up the damned phone ya overgrown bastard!” a familiar, growling voice called through the speaker of the little machine. The loft tended to carry sound, and Renji’s words were shockingly loud. Uryuu kept tracing a line on a piece of fabric.

There was a sigh over the speaker. “Aw, fine. Yer probably gettin’ ready for the gig tonight, huh? Bet yer gonna spend an extra twenty minutes pickin’ out the right shirt that might finally hook ‘im in, huh?”

Uryuu blinked and stopped working.

Renji rumbled a laugh and when he next spoke, his voice was mocking and high. “Oh, Chad – you look so _handsome_ in that floral pattern! I could just eat you alive!”

Okay…this was just strange. And entertaining. Uryuu spun a little in his chair to face the phone and behind him, the shower turned off.

“Well,” Renji continued, dropping his voice to a bad impersonation of a bass rumble. “Why don’t ya get down on your knees and show me a good time, bitch. I been waitin’ for yer pretty mouth ‘round my ginormous cock for years, my pretty, pretty Quincy.”

Uryuu’s mouth fell open and he sat frozen with one hand in the air like he wanted to ask a question, eyes wide.

“Oh, _Chadikins_!” Renji’s voice went high again, and from behind Uryuu there came a loud thud. Uryuu turned just in time to see Chad throw open the bathroom door and brace himself in the doorway, eyes crazed and chest heaving. He wasn’t dry, and his jeans were spotty and damp over wet skin. He looked absolutely and completely panicked.

“I’ll suck ya sooo good, baby,” Renji continued and then made a terrifically obscene slurping noise.

Chad made a sound – sort of a growling yell from behind closed lips – and then he bolted from the bathroom door toward the back of the loft. Uryuu blinked as he watched 250 pounds of muscle and force barrel across the hardwood and run smack into the chair near the TV like he didn’t even see the piece of furniture in his way. Chad went flying and tumbling, and Uryuu stood up with one hand out, a warning caught in his throat.

“Tell me how ya like it, ya big, strong, manly man.”

“Goddamnit, Renji!” Chad bellowed, and Uryuu took a step back in shock. He watched as Chad got himself upright and left the chair askew. He staggered in a fast dance, hit a lamp, knocked it over with a brutal clang of metal to hardwood, and then scrambled with hands and feet in an odd crawl past Uryuu and to the curtain around the bed. 

It only took seconds, but the entire scene played out in slow motion in Uryuu’s sights.

“I like it with you wearin’ that sweet little outfit a’yers and yer tongue on the underside of my dick, pretty boy. I got a thing for mixin’ my religions. You should see my collection of sacred relics sometime – it’s under my… _bed_.” Renji’s voice paused to emphasize the word. “Next to the fuckin’ knitting needles.”

 _Oh…my…God…_ Uryuu’s hand covered his mouth as he watched Chad trip and nearly rip the curtains down from their racks. Then he paused – the phone wasn’t on the cradle. The little bit of rationale Uryuu had left told him that he should tell Chad to unplug the machine, but the words just wouldn’t untangle from his tongue.

“Where’s the phone?” Chad cried, voice loud. 

“Bookshelves!” Uryuu called back, pointing and starting toward the handset himself. Chad’s insane panic was infectious, and Uryuu’s heart pounded in his chest.

“…wear that white thing with the collar and cape…maybe tell me to repent…yeah baby.” Renji made moaning noises interspersed with grunts. “Just like that! Make Daddy beg for it!”

Chad beat Uryuu by a mile and grabbed the phone to click it on, panting. 

“Hey!” Renji’s voice said cheerfully from the machine. “Ya are there!” 

Uryuu flew toward the offending machine, and Chad didn’t say a word as Uryuu found the power cord and ripped it out of the wall hard enough to make the plastic whipcrack against the nightstand.

“I’m going to kill you,” Chad threatened in a half-growl into the phone and then hung up. 

For a very long, tense moment, the only sound in the loft was fast, harsh breathing. Uryuu gripped the nightstand, back to Chad. His mind went completely blank and then in a few heartbeats was so full of questions and conclusions and jumbled reactions that he felt a little like screaming.

Footsteps behind Uryuu made him turn, and he saw Chad throw open the closet near the kitchen and grab a shirt. Uryuu was plenty perceptive enough to see that the trembling of shoulders was in sheer rage covering embarrassment, and Uryuu had absolutely no idea what to say or do. He crossed his arms and just watched Chad jerk on clothing.

“He teases me,” Chad said, voice deceptively calm as he spun and stalked toward the door. Uryuu followed feeling like he was swimming in the wake of Chad’s barely-contained fury.

“Chad-“ Uryuu started.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” Chad nearly snarled as he yanked on his shoes. Uryuu had never seen him like this. He was anything but sure-and-steady Chad at the moment; he looked stripped and naked even fully dressed, and it made Uryuu ache all over. 

“I didn’t-“

“You need to work. I’ve got the gig.” Chad grabbed his bass from near the door and slung it over his shoulder without looking back at Uryuu. 

“I’m not-“ 

“Later,” Chad said and threw open the door and then slammed it as he left.

“…angry,” Uryuu finished, one hand outstretched and reaching toward Chad as he stood amidst the chaos of spilled secrets.

~*~

Uryuu didn’t go to the gig. It killed him a little to lie to Orihime and tell her he was sick, but he didn’t want to be there when Chad got on stage. Tonight was important: the agent from the label thinking about putting out A Lovely Death’s album would be there. Uryuu didn’t like the idea of Chad seeing Uryuu in the crowd, getting upset, and doing anything less than his best. The band was important to Chad, even though he didn’t say it. And as Uryuu sat sewing fabric together, he realized Chad didn’t need to say much at all for Uryuu to understand him these days.

So Uryuu also understood when Chad didn’t come home that night. Uryuu sat on the couch for a solid hour staring down at his cell phone and contemplating whether or not he should text Chad. “Are you okay?” seemed too nebulous. “I’m not upset” seemed too specific. “Let me know you’re safe” seemed like he was nagging. And “Should I leave?” hurt too much.

In the end, Uryuu went to sleep at three in the morning and woke up when the sunlight shone too brightly through the open curtains. Chad usually closed them before he went to sleep, and Uryuu forgot to do so. He immediately checked his phone and saw one text from Ichigo – “Show rocked; you should have been here.” – and then went about making coffee and breakfast. He made enough food for two, and then quietly put it in the fridge when Chad still didn’t show.

The day stretched long and awful in front of Uryuu, and he found that he didn’t need time to think anymore. He knew exactly how he felt: worried and completely sure he had feelings for Chad. Rather strong ones, actually. And now that he suspected Chad returned them – because no way would he have been so upset if the teasing was unfounded – he could only wait for his friend to get back. It felt like the only thing to do, and so Uryuu went about the business of waiting. He finished six outfits, studied, and ate lunch. He looked out the window and watched kids play in the park. He cleaned the bathroom, watched TV, and did anything and everything he could do to distract himself.

Late afternoon found Uryuu staring at Chad’s bed. 

“This is so, so wrong,” Uryuu said to himself in the silence of the apartment. His voice sounded odd from disuse and he swallowed. 

After looking to triple-check that the door was locked, Uryuu carefully pulled back the sheer privacy curtain and kneeled down next to the bed. Renji’s words kept playing in his brain like some horrible song on repeat, and curiosity and need were overwhelming Uryuu’s senses of politeness and discretion. Hours spent alone and waiting had weakened Uryuu’s resolve as to how much he actually understood Chad. It was like he needed…one final piece of evidence – just one. And then finally – finally – it would tip the scales and Uryuu would know for _certain._

Bending down slowly and nervously, Uryuu peered under the bed. Sure enough – there was a long, low, wide crate hidden in the shadows made by the box springs. Uryuu had to lie down on his stomach and slide half under the mattress to reach the thing, but eventually his fingers found a grip and he pulled the container out into the open. It was black, plastic, and completely nondescript.

Biting his lip and cheeks flushed a dark red, Uryuu carefully pressed his fingers under the lid and popped it off the crate. With a deep breath, he removed the lid and gasped a little at the contents.  
 __  
“I got a thing for mixin’ my religions. You should see my collection of sacred relics sometime – it’s under my…bed…next to the fuckin’ knitting needles.”  
  
It was…an odd mix. Anal beads, vibrator still in a box, a few battered copies of BL books, two batteries, and a few other toys that made Uryuu’s eyebrows meet his hairline.

_Clamps…cockrings…right._

But even though the toys were a little surprising – Chad just didn’t seem like the type who would…well, whatever – they weren’t half as shocking as some of the other items.

For example: one of Uryuu’s old capes lay neatly folded and stained with blood in the corner of the crate. He hadn’t worn that style in years, and he had no idea how Chad got his hands on that one. Uryuu’s fingertips brushed the fabric almost reverently before snatching his hand away like the cloth burned him.

There were other magazines and books in the crate, too, and those were far less innocent than a Boy Love book or three. Uryuu knew the porn industry prided itself on being simultaneously appealing to the masses and to niche markets, but until that moment he had no idea that one such niche market was for men who enjoyed…well…priests. Or religious men in general, it seemed. 

Uryuu refrained from opening any of those magazines, but he did stare at one cover that showed a man dressed in blue-trimmed white robes holding a whip standing defiantly over a prostrated, naked man. It was insane in its kink, yes, but the outfit the religious man wore looked disturbingly like some in Uryuu's own closet. 

Uryuu’s heart thudded in his chest and ears, and he found himself extremely thirsty.

Pushing aside the magazine with a careful finger, Uryuu made a soft noise of shock as he uncovered possibly the most random find yet: _Needlepoint for Dummies._ Uryuu blinked at the garish, yellow book and then saw there were a couple other reference books on sewing and knitting as well. They didn’t look well-used. Almost like they were bought and read once for…research.

Or because Chad felt he needed to educate himself with the passions of his long-term crush.

That thought swirled and floated and then landed with a heavy thud in Uryuu’s mind. He looked at the cape, the books, and the porn and tried to make sense of it; to categorize it. Then he pushed aside a reference manual on cross-stitching and found what he thought at first was a rosary. 

But it wasn’t: it was a Quincy cross. Not the type that would call forth bows or power, but rather the quieter type his family used for meditation and reminder of their path. The thing was bent a little on one end, and Uryuu thought it looked like strong hands had tried to remold it back to its original form. Uryuu stared at that piece of himself lying on the bottom of the crate for a very long time. 

Then he put everything back in order, snapped the lid back onto the box, and slid it across the hardwood and dust bunnies to its home beneath the bed.

It took a while for Uryuu to get up, pull the curtain back into place, and then walk over to collapse into the big chair that Uryuu had righted after Chad left yesterday. The box was all the damning and incriminating evidence he could possibly need. But what was both amazing and utterly terrifying was that said evidence did much, much more than confirm Chad might like him.

No, that box spoke of carefully-protected and long-guarded…love. Obsession, maybe. But the fact that Chad had never once in many years ever said or done anything to reveal such a strong tie to his friend and teammate made Uryuu feel that love was more appropriate than anything semi-dirty or dark like obsession or fixation. 

Sighing, Uryuu leaned back in the big chair and stared at the exposed pipe work in the ceiling. 

And he sat that way for a long while, eventually dozing off as he waited for Chad to come home and back to him.

~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this story a few years ago, and I confess, it's one of your Demented Tour Guide's favorites. I did it for Imlikat/Yaoiismy on a whim, and also as a reward for a friend of mine for getting through a very difficult language exam. I had so much fun with this one, and the sex scene(s) are still some of my favorites.
> 
> Ain't nothin' better than gettin' it on during a thunderstorm.
> 
> This was my first foray into the Bleach fandom, and, as such, the world is a pseudo-alternate universe. There are brief and casual nods to canon, and it is not set in my go-to AU, Monoshizukanohi, although it's close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades. Regardless, please be kind, as, well... it was my first time and all. *winks*
> 
> "Flood" is posted all over the place, most notably on Y!Gallery and my LiveJournal. There are also audio files, read by myself (as the narrator and Uryuu) and Imlikat (as Chad). We had entirely too much fun doing that. "Flood" also has a side story, "Coming Home," that I wrote a while after the main story was finished, in honor of Imlikat's battle to quit smoking.
> 
> Here be the links, should you be interested:  
> [My Y Gallery](http://www.y-gallery.net/user/darkprism/) \- must be over 18 and have free account.  
> [My LiveJournal](http://demented-dee.livejournal.com) \- check out the side bar for all the stories  
> [Free Audio Download of Flood](http://www.4shared.com/folder/Unh-MNl5/Audio_Readings.html)
> 
> Anyway, I shall be posted all six chapters in quick succession. I hope you enjoy and thank you for reading! The comments, kudos, and all else make my day.
> 
> ♥Dee


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Uryuu Ishida's apartment becomes, he turns to his friend Chad for a place to crash. Angst, chaos, and seven levels of yaoi hell unfurl as Uryuu learns more than anyone else knows about strong, silent, sweet Chad.

Keys in the lock of the door made Uryuu startle awake and nearly fall out of the chair as the door opened and Chad walked into the loft. The Quincy went from resting to heart-pounding anxiety in two dizzying seconds. 

Chad kicked off his shoes and set down his guitar, and Uryuu turned in the chair to watch the large man casually walk across to the kitchen and open the fridge. He removed a can of soda, snapped open the top and then calmly walked over to the couch. 

“Hey,” he said to the Quincy as Chad sat down and nabbed the remote off the table. He flicked on the TV and sipped his drink as if nothing was amiss.

“Hi,” Uryuu replied, pulling his feet into the chair and hugging his knees. “Where…” He paused. “How was the show?”

“Good,” Chad said, taking another swig from the can that looked tiny in his paw of a hand. “Agent liked us.”

“That’s great!” Uryuu said with real enthusiasm. “Congratulations.”

Chad nodded once, eyes on the TV.

“I’m sorry I…wasn’t there.” It took Uryuu a second to decide on the phrasing. 

Chad shrugged one shoulder. “You were sick.” He looked at Uryuu. “It’s fine.” His head swiveled back to the TV.

_So that’s how we’re going to play this, is it?_

Uryuu swallowed and slowly got up. “What’s on?” he asked.

“DVR has _Bura-Rei_ ,” Chad replied calmly.

Uryuu sat down next to Chad, once again pulling his knees to his chest. “Sounds good.”

Chad flicked buttons on the remote and keyed up the show, and for a few minutes there was nothing but the sound of the TV in the loft.

“Where were you?” Uryuu asked after a moment or two.

“Stayed over at Urahara’s.”

Uryuu thought about that for a few minutes. If Renji was in town, then that’s probably where he was crashing. Uryuu rather hoped Renji wasn’t…well, incapacitated beyond repair.

“I was a little worried,” Uryuu said, trying very hard not to make it sound accusatory.

Chad turned and looked at Uryuu, but the Quincy kept his eyes on the TV.

“I’m sorry,” Chad said.

Uryuu shrugged.

For a second or two, Chad acted like he might say something else, and Uryuu’s heart thudded so hard in his chest he was sure Chad could hear it.

But in the end, Chad said nothing, and the two men watched the show in silence. Uryuu wanted to say many things: “I’m not angry;” “Come closer;” “Where in the hell did you get that cape in the box under your bed?” 

Uryuu weighed each of the options and couldn’t decide which one if any was the right thing to say. It felt like the entire right side of his body was heated from its proximity to Chad, and the feeling made him blush and curl into a tighter ball. Chad didn’t act like anything was wrong or right. He didn’t act like…anything. And once again, Uryuu found himself incapable of doing a damned thing to break the walls between them.

It made the resilient, proud, and reserved Quincy feel small, breakable, and inadequate. The very air seemed palpable with unspoken words and unexpressed emotion. But he didn’t know if all that was in his own damned head. Doubt poured in: what if that box was really old? What if Renji was teasing Chad about something he felt long ago, and the reason Chad was so angry was over the inaccuracy of the words rather than the hidden emotion they revealed? And how pissed would Chad be, exactly, if Uryuu confessed he looked in the damned box?

Uryuu was lost and struggling under the weight of Chad’s careful, silent, control, and when the show was done, he could do nothing but watch as Chad got up and began to get ready for bed. Sadness bordering on anguish filled him when he saw Chad gather up clothes and head for the bathroom. He didn’t change near his bed like he’d been doing. It spoke of discomfort and uneasiness, and Uryuu didn’t know whether he wanted to cry or put a few thousand arrows through the incomprehensible man.

Chad came out of the bathroom dressed not only in pants but also a t-shirt, and the sight of the clothing damn near broke Uryuu’s heart.

“Tired,” Chad said as he walked by the couch where Uryuu still sat with his knees to his chest. “But you work if you need to.”

“No,” Uryuu said, and it wasn’t just a response to the statement. He stood up and Chad looked at him curiously.

“I…” The words were there, the fire was under his feet…but he got all confused again when both of Chad’s eyes gazed at him solemnly. 

“…I’m tired, too.”

“Okay,” Chad said after a second or two. He moved to start closing curtains and Uryuu grabbed his pajamas off the arm of the couch and nearly ran for the bathroom. He took a long shower and felt his eyes burn with anger and frustration at himself and his fucking inability to _do_ something. 

Uryuu could kill when he had to. He could fight for honor and his friends. He could charge with purpose and destiny and fearlessness into danger. Ace tests, manage time, cope with loss and injury and defeat…

But Chad’s gaze made him weak and immobile and afraid.

_What if I’m wrong?_

The words played a discordant harmony in Uryuu’s mind as he left the bathroom and crossed to the couch in the semi-darkness. Chad left the drapes open behind his bed, and through them the light of the full moon shone in streaking silver seeming to hide more than it illuminated. Chad was nothing more than a dark form visible under the sheet. A misty rain fell outside, clouds lazily obscuring the moonlight, and Chad had opened a couple of windows to the night air. Uryuu said nothing as he settled on the couch, not bothering with blankets. He lay on his back and listened to the rain, willing himself to fall asleep and escape for a while.

~*~

In the dream, the phone rang.

Uryuu looked up from where he sat at the desk, a quilt laying over his lap. He’d never sewn a quilt in his life, and it was that and the surreal sense of déjà vu that told him this was a dream.

The phone rang again, the noise oddly distant. It sounded like it rang underwater, and with a start, Uryuu realized an inch of water soaked the hardwood floor beneath his bare feet. He gasped and lifted his legs and the quilt, trying not to get wet.

“I’m sorry,” Chad said from across the room.

Uryuu turned and saw Chad standing in the doorway to the bathroom much as he had when Renji’s voice tormented them both the day before. Except he wore nothing but a towel instead of damp jeans, and water rolled out from the bathroom around his feet.

“For what?” Uryuu asked, standing up. He realized with a shock that he was nude and wrapped the quilt around his nakedness feeling ashamed and worried and upset.

“It’s okay,” Chad said, not answering the first question but responding to Uryuu’s distress. The taller man padded across the loft and his feet made wet, faintly cute patting noises over the damp hardwood.

The phone rang again – louder and more insistent – and Chad’s head jerked toward the noise. 

“Shit!” he cried and stumbled over the chair again, falling just as he had in real life. 

But this time, Uryuu was there to help, kneeling next to the fallen man. The towel was gone, and Chad lay gloriously tan and bare in a puddle of water, blinking up at Uryuu with a dazed expression.

“I’m not angry,” Uryuu said, and the relief that washed over him when he said those words was so strong he could taste it on his tongue: sweet and sticky. 

Chad sat up and reached out a hand to grab the quilt, and Uryuu gasped. “You saw what I like, didn’t you?” Chad asked.

“I saw my cape. And my cross.”

Chad nodded. “What I like,” he repeated. Then he slung his head back and pushed a hand through his curls, forehead and eyes and nose suddenly exposed. Uryuu stared and thought Chad was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. In the dream, tears welled in his eyes and emotion thundered and crashed in his body. He wanted and needed and felt so damned _awful_ that he couldn’t…

With a cry, Uryuu reached for Chad and the big man caught him and pulled him close, hard chest pressing against Uryuu’s torso. The quilt got tangled around Uryuu’s legs, and he wanted to sob in his desire to get the damned thing off and away. 

“It’s okay,” Chad said again, and the comfort behind those words was terrible in its kindness, and Uryuu looked into Chad’s eyes. At this distance, he could see the lighter brown mixing with the dark, and he wrapped his arms around Chad’s shoulders. He panted now, and felt heat lash through him as Chad gently removed the quilt.

“So hard,” Chad whispered, and one hand came around to Uryuu’s back, pushing him forward. Uryuu moved and felt Chad’s abdomen trap his aching erection. Everything was wet and slick, and Uryuu’s head fell forward onto Chad’s shoulder as he moaned. Chad held him tightly and shifted somehow to make friction work along Uryuu’s length. The Quincy got lost in the feeling and the sheer relief at finally being in Chad’s arms.

“…Yasu…” Uryuu whispered, the quiet, secret nickname safe in dreamspace. “Please…”

The answering moan was confusing – it came from two places at once, and Uryuu tried to stop and turn, but Chad held him still and the friction increased. Uryuu’s breath caught and he stifled a noise against Chad’s skin. Release seemed dizzyingly close, and he clutched into the softness of Chad’s body.

…wait. That wasn’t right: Chad wasn’t soft. And this was…

Thunder whip-crashed and Uryuu’s eyes flew open in darkness. For a few breathless seconds, everything was terrifyingly _real_. Uryuu breathed hard, his heart pounding in his chest. He felt short of breath and immediately figured out it was because his face was nearly smothered against the back of the couch. 

Pulling away with a soft gasp, thunder ripped through the night again, and Uryuu jumped. The open windows let in the sound of rain falling hard and heavy, and lightning arced and lit up the loft. It let Uryuu get a firmer grip on reality, and he felt his cheeks flush deep crimson.

A pillow was shoved against his lower belly and hard cock, and it was apparent he’d been thrusting against it with abandon. The softness of the dream-Chad’s body was just the couch, and Uryuu could actually see the indents left behind by his fingers. The apartment felt humid and damp from the open windows and rain, and Uryuu shivered with a slight chill. He recalled that he’d not bothered to cover up before going to sleep, and the Quincy flushed harder when he realized that he and the poor pillow were exposed in all their subconscious sin. 

More lightning flashed through the room, and Uryuu closed his eyes in an effort to try to calm down his racing heart. And then he heard it: a soft sigh and shift. The noise was so quiet that it was almost lost under the roar of the rain. Thunder boomed again and shook the loft, and Uryuu realized with sudden clarity that he was not the only man awake.

Rolling his upper body, Uryuu stared in the direction of Chad’s bed, but all he saw were indistinct shapes shaded in the black and gray of gloom. So he waited and counted his own heartbeats until another rip of lightning flooded the room.

In that flash, Uryuu saw Chad roll and writhe with one arm flung over his face and one knee lifted to tent the sheet. 

The next crash of thunder found Uryuu on his feet, erection tucked up into the waist of his pants, feet silent on the hardwood floor, and mind shockingly without plan. He crept over to the hazy curtain and parted it, peering inside the makeshift space. 

The bed was a mess, and for a crazy second, Uryuu was very happy the guitar didn’t make it to bed with Chad earlier. The man lay almost on a diagonal, which was confusing to Uryuu’s muddled senses as the bed itself was angled to the wall. Uryuu took a quick step to the side so that Chad’s shoulder and broad back were to him, hoping he could look and gaze before his friend caught him; before the moment was over with another flash of brilliant white and Uryuu would lose his nerve and creep back to the couch.

And there was much to see: Chad’s stomach was exposed as his shirt rode high on his abdomen. Sweat or mist that made it through the screens of the windows made his skin look shiny in the dim. His left arm was flung up and over his face, forcing his head further to one side. And his right arm lay against his body, hand beneath the tangled sheet. The pants had lost the battle to need, and Uryuu stared as Chad’s knee fell wide and away from him. The position let the Quincy see the sheet shift with the movement of Chad’s stroking hand, and Uryuu completely forgot how to breathe.

Lightning danced, and Uryuu brought the side of his hand up to his mouth to stifle the soft, shocked cry he made. But it was too little too late, and Chad’s arm flew to land heavily on the bed as his neck jerked his head toward Uryuu. The roll of thunder drowned out Chad’s breathing for a second or two, but Uryuu heard it once silence reigned again: fast, harsh, startled.

After the white daze cleared from Uryuu’s vision, he could make out wide eyes staring at him in the darkness. Chad’s body was frozen: caught-in-the-act-guilty. He held his breath and then gasped only to hold more air in his lungs as if trying to be still and quiet. Maybe he hoped that would make Uryuu un-see all this; undo any damage done.

Chad’s arm bent slightly and his upper body came off the bed. Panic fluttered in Uryuu’s chest; he didn’t want this spell broken. Lightning spilled and cracked again, and he saw the fear and shock and heat in Chad’s eyes, and he felt every single one of those things echoed in himself. 

“Don’t stop,” Uryuu whispered – the harsh edge of the words loud in the silence before the thunder roared. He heard Chad pant once – loudly – and then the floor shook with the storm.

Uryuu watched Chad’s arm straighten along the mattress as he lay back down against the bed, the movement unsure and slightly jerky. For a second, nothing happened, and Uryuu wondered if he’d actually spoken. Did he say those words? Did he really?

And then slowly – much slower than before Uryuu had interrupted – Chad’s hand moved beneath the sheet. He made no noise, didn’t appear to even breathe, but Uryuu’s eyes snapped down to watch the undulation of fist and knuckle beneath the soft fabric.

“Need to see,” Uryu said and couldn’t believe himself for speaking. But it was true, and he made it truer as he slowly bent and caught the sheet between shaking fingers. Chad’s breath caught harshly, and Uryuu could hear his own ragged breathing in the quiet of the room, made even louder as the rain slackened outside and the storm roiled and warred high up in the skies. 

Carefully and with a fascinating rustle and slip of cloth, Uryuu pulled the sheet toward him and away from Chad’s body. He saw knee, the angle of thigh and calf, more torso, dark hair, and then a heavy, full, long, wide cock wrapped in a capable and gliding hand. 

“Oh God,” Uryuu whispered very, very quietly. His hand let go of the sheet and fluttered up to lightly touch his stomach, other hand in a fist at his side. Everything vanished except for what Uryuu’s eyes could see and what his body felt as he watched. Chad’s hand grabbed at the flat sheet and he made a soft noise built of uncertainty and longing and other things Uryuu didn’t try to identify.

Lightning flickered, and a wave of lust rode Uryuu hard as he felt the urge to speak. It was as though if he spoke in the down time between the thunder bursts, then it was okay to say these things. The rain would wash away the evidence of his trembling words, and none of it would matter later if it didn’t need to.

“What are you thinking about?” Uryuu asked quietly. The level of need and want in his own voice floored the Quincy, and he blinked slowly at the heady sensation.

Chad’s hand seemed to stutter mid-stroke as he heard Uryuu speak, and that was…no. Just no.

“Yasu…” Uryuu whispered. “Please…don’t stop…” It was somewhere between a plea and an order, and he had no idea why he used that name. Speaking the syllables terrified him, but it fit and it worked and then it didn’t matter because the thunder thudded again making it safe.

The hand on Chad’s length squeezed and stroked a little faster, the fist in the sheet clenched a little tighter, and Chad’s entire body seemed to arch upward seeking sensation. 

“You,” came the breathy reply at long last. “Thinking about you.”

“What about me?” Uryuu asked immediately, eyes fixated on the body before him. Unconsciously, he lifted a knee and rested it on the bed. He reached up and crossed his arms, hands gripping at opposite shoulders.

A syllable of want escaped Yasu’s lips, and it made Uryuu shudder.

“Moaning,” Chad said. Outside the clouds parted and the moon shone brightly with sudden light. The rain eased back to mist and nothing mattered but the way Chad looked at Uryuu: like he was burning up with need for the Quincy. Like he would fall apart if Uryuu broke this intense sliver of reality.

“You were moaning in your sleep. And moving – your hips were…and I wanted –“ Chad broke off to breathe as he worked himself. “Wanted to go to you. Wake you up.” His eyes slid nearly closed, and Uryuu saw his tongue wet his bottom lip.

“To do what, Yasu?” Uryuu asked. This wasn’t him – it couldn’t be. He never acted like this; would never in a thousand years be asking these things or initiating. It scared him and thrilled him, and he rode the relief and desire he felt still echoing from the dream. And he fell in love with moonlight on Chad’s naked body.

“Anything,” Chad answered, vulnerable in his honesty. “Just…” The hand on the bed relaxed its grip on the sheet and reached tentatively toward Uryuu. 

“Take off your shirt,” Uryuu whispered, the words barely audible. But Chad heard and stopped stroking to sit up and obey. Uryuu’s eyes danced over moving muscle and hard, firm lines. And he got a good look at the sex that stood straight and true between Chad’s legs. It was intimating and made Uryuu’s anus contract and his mouth go dry.

Chad lay back down once the shirt was gone and inched closer to Uryuu on the bed. He moved like he was afraid he’d startle the Quincy, and Uryuu frowned at that. 

“Be still,” he ordered, voice rough and a little louder. Chad immediately complied, frozen in shock or uncertainty or both. Uryuu worked his tongue in his mouth to find saliva and moisture and climbed onto the bed. He didn’t meet Chad’s gaze – thought it might make this newfound resolve collapse if he did – and he crawled slowly over to Chad’s warm body. He breathed quickly through mouth and nose, and he wondered at himself and his actions and everything else. But it was like he had to make this right; had to make up for not speaking sooner. For not _acting_ sooner. 

Because on his hands and knees on the bed so close to Chad’s skin bathed by faint silver light, Uryuu realized he wanted this man more than he wanted his own power.

Above him, Chad seemed to struggle for air, and muscles moved and jerked beneath his skin. Uryuu didn’t touch, but he watched, and he saw Chad’s dick twitch hard beneath his gaze. He observed hair and thighs and balls and wanted more.

Uryuu sucked in a breath and then slowly bent down and pressed his lips against the underside of Chad’s shaft. It was silk and heat beneath his mouth, and he kissed again and again. Each press of lips pulled a sound from Chad, the noises increasing in their desperation. Uryuu’s eyes went unfocused, and he turned his head to lick a line from balls to crown. But when his tongue traced and mapped the sheer width of Chad, Uryuu’s arms trembled and his will faltered. Doubt tackled desire, and Uyruu stilled.

“Uryuu,” Chad said, and the Quincy found himself unceremoniously hauled up Chad’s body and then wrapped in arms that trapped him against the planes of a shockingly hard chest. 

“My God…Uryuu…oh…” Chad sounded broken and torn, and his arms held the Quincy like he was Chad’s embodiment of sanity.

Panting, breathing, and Uryuu couldn’t get over how warm Chad felt against him like this, and he was suddenly burning up. He made a complaining noise and struggled, trying to find enough room to get his shirt off.

Without a word, Chad’s hand moved and grabbed the hem of Uryuu’s shirt and got it up and over his head. Then he rolled over the Quincy and Uryuu had two seconds to consider skin-on-skin and how amazing and good that was before Chad annihilated thought by pressing his full mouth to Uryuu’s in a chaste kiss. It lasted for half a second, and that was hours too little.

Uryuu reached up and wrapped his arms around Chad’s neck, one hand catching in dark curls and making him marvel at texture and dampness and sensory overload. 

“Don’t. Stop,” Uryuu said clearly – permission, confession, demand.

Chad gently rested some of his weight on Uryuu’s body and kissed him again, this time letting his lips slide over Uryuu’s before catching the Quincy’s bottom lip and sucking gently. The world faded even further into unimportance, and doubt went with it. Uryuu made a noise against Chad’s lips and rolled his body against the larger man’s. He panted out of the corner of his mouth and a hot tongue slipped between his teeth. Images of watching this and wishing for it made heat pulse hard and hot from core to cock, and Uryuu kissed Chad with sheer abandon. Tongues met, lips sucked, and when Chad moaned into Uryuu’s mouth the Quincy shuddered with the satisfaction that he was the reason behind such a perfect sound.

Chad shifted and Uryuu clung around his neck, not caring what the other man did as long as he didn’t stop kissing him like this. It was never this good - never - and by all things in hell and heaven it was _incredible._ Hot, everything blazed…he was going to die from the heat.

Uryuu felt himself moved onto his side by strong, sure hands, and one of them pet down his bare back. The touch was firm and exploratory, fingers stroking and digging into muscle as it traveled down. Impatient with the pace, Uryuu let go of Chad’s neck with one arm and reached down to push at the pants he still wore. The movement earned him another soft groan, and then Chad’s hand slid the clothing off, and Uryuu’s feet kicked the annoying fabric away. The hand on his back pushed him closer, and Uryuu’s mind showed him a picture from his dream for the split second it took for Chad to roll over top Uryuu. 

Skin met skin again, and Uryuu’s hard cock dug into Chad’s abdomen and the shock and pleasure forced Uryuu’s head back. A wet mouth found the front of his throat and kissed while hands and bodies moved and pressed against one another. Chad ground down and pressed deliberately to slide friction along Uryuu’s trapped cock, and his tongue licked at the juncture of neck and shoulder.

“Oh god…” Uryuu gasped. 

“Uryuu,” Chad said, voice a low growl that vibrated against Uryuu’s throat. “I want…” But he didn’t finish the sentence. Instead, he grabbed Uryuu’s arms and pushed them up above the Quincy on the bed. Uryuu started to protest and then he felt Chad’s fingers tracing patterns up and down the tender skin over triceps. He felt Chad kiss neck and jaw and then across shoulder finally to nip at the flesh just above the hair beneath Uryuu’s arms. It was a little stunning in its familiarity, and protests died on his tongue.

Chad’s chin and cheek gently pushed Uryuu’s face to one side, and a hot mouth began to kiss and suckle at every single place that drove Uryuu insane. He had no idea his neck was so damned sensitive, and it made him jerk beneath Chad and bite his own lip. He breathed harder as Chad nibbled earlobe and ear, and he thought he would go out of his mind when a tongue traced the shell of cartilage like it had all day to memorize this map.

“Yasu-!” Uryuu almost hissed, wanting more and wanting to enjoy at the same time. He didn’t know if he needed Chad to hurry the hell up or slow the fuck down, but the warring sensation made him buck up and seek some sort of relief.

“I’ve wanted you for a long time.” The softly spoken confession made Uryuu go still, and his eyes went wide in the room full of light-and-shadow.

“And I want every piece of you,” Chad continued throatily, as if explaining what he’d done and what he would do. 

“But if it’s too much…I can…” The words trailed off into kisses placed to Uryuu’s ear, and a hand played up and down his arm before reaching up to lace together fingers, squeezing.

“Do everything to me,” Uryuu said in a moaning rush – and holy _God_ did those words confound him. Not just because of what he permitted with them – and it was rare for him to allow anyone such freedom with his body – but also that he said the words at all. He panted and blinked at implication and meaning, and then he shivered in sheer avarice. “Please…Yasu…I can’t…just…”

Chad made a helpless noise that broke and remade pieces of Uryuu, and the Quincy squeezed Chad’s hand as he whispered: “I want this. I want _you_.”

Words spoken and negotiations over, Chad’s mouth found Uryuu’s and kissed him with force and purpose. Chad kissed like they were fighting about it – and Uryuu was more than happy to let Chad win this one. Saliva trickled down his chin, and when he moved against Chad again, he realized that his cock was leaking a ridiculous amount between their bodies. It coated lines and made sticky pools on Chad’s skin, and all Uryuu could conjure up at that thought was the want for more.

Finally releasing his mouth and hand, Chad slid lower to kiss the indentation between Uryuu’s collar bones. His hands moved down his arms, ran over his underarms in a way that made Uryuu squirm, and then big hands cupped under Uryuu’s body to knead between shoulder blades. A low rumbling sound began in the room and for a second, Uyruu thought the thunder was back. And then he realized Chad was speaking, and the words spilled in different languages in a linguistic jumble, but Uryuu knew them well enough to untangle the syllables.

“Skin’s so soft. Knew it would be. Wanted this. Needed this…you. Want you so bad.”

Lips moved and then found one nipple, and Uryuu reached to tangle his hands in Chad’s hair. The words stopped as Chad’s mouth teased Uryuu into a small frenzy, and then he licked a horizontal line and did it again to the other side. Uryuu stopped trying to identify lips from tongue from teeth and just felt it all in a wave. His spine ached and he realized he strained up and into Chad, body demanding when his mind grew blurry.

Uryuu let his own hands slide from hair to Chad’s neck and then shoulders, feeling and digging into the skin. He wasn’t terribly good at being merely passive, and he reached around and down to trace over Chad’s chest before finding a tender bit of skin and pluck-pulling it into hardness even as Chad’s teeth nipped Uryuu’s own. Chad nibbled harder.

“ _Shit_!” Uryuu hissed, and Chad lapped at skin in apology. Uryuu grunted and pinched the nub between his own fingers, and Chad gasped: hot air blowing over wet flesh. 

“Uryuu… _oooh,_ Uryuu…” 

The way his name bracketed a moan drove Uryuu a little insane. He let his hands wander as Chad kissed down his abdomen, moving faster now – the urgency conveyed in messy kisses that left dampness to cool in the air.

Beneath his body, Chad’s hands moved lower and almost forced Uryuu’s torso into a roll as they slipped to rest at his waist. Fingers and palms spanned his slighter form, and the little surge of helplessness that accompanied that feeling made Uryuu‘s breathing go erratic.

“Please…Yasu…I need…” Uryuu bit his lip and clutched at a pillow as Chad’s hands moved up and over his legs to reach down and cup his ass. Fingers dug into Uryuu’s cheeks, and then moved to spread his legs obscenely wide. 

“Want to see all of you,” Chad murmured. His thumbs pressed into the taut tendons along Uryuu’s inner thighs, and the Quincy put his wrist to his mouth and bit the skin.

Teeth nibbled at the juncture of leg and body, and Uryuu didn’t think he would survive this. And the moment Chad’s lips touched his cock, he would come screaming. The thought embarrassed him, scared him, and made him positively fucking _ache._

“Tell me what you need,” Chad said, and Uryuu looked down to meet warm eyes looking back up at him. He swallowed and felt himself flush with more than just desire, and he was grateful for the dim room. The moon hid shame and had no use for modesty. 

_Don’t think, just do, and worry about it when the sun’s up…_

“I need your mouth on me,” Uryuu said, voice only slightly shaky. “A-anywhere…but please, oh god _please,_ taste my cock.”

The groan that reverberated through the room made any hesitation about speaking a non-issue. A wet, flat tongue lapped at Uryuu’s balls and made him jerk and let out a startled cry. His arms flew up and his hands found the ornate headboard, hands fisting chilled, damp metal in a death grip. 

“I’m so…oh my god I’m so close…I’m sorry…I…” Uryuu whimpered when he felt that tongue on the underside of his dick. Heat pooled low in his gut, and for a second he thought he _would_ come from the wet slick of Chad’s tongue on him. But the lick was a tease – a taste and nothing more. More licks followed, up the sides and down again; a glide over balls and a swirl around the base. He didn’t shoot his load at the sensation, but Uryuu’s entire body went rigid. His back arched, his knees pressed down toward the mattress, and he pulled on the headboard as he fought for something like control over his body. Breathing became a struggle, and his eyes stared up sightlessly as he waited for what came next.

“It’s okay,” Chad’s voice rumbled, and Uryuu heard the words like an echo: in a dream and in the here and now. “Just feel good for me.”

A hand moved to lightly brush fingers over Uryuu’s sac and then up his length: teasing, testing, touching. Knuckles pet against the firm flesh, lips pressed with little licks of tongue, and Uryuu felt himself come undone. Noises escaped his lips, his hips twitched upward and moved until a firm hand stilled him. And Uryuu was grateful for the pressure holding him down because it was the only thing serving as a ground while Chad drove Uryuu to the edge and back again over and over with his careful ministrations. Uryuu called out and cried for mercy and couldn’t believe the sounds he made.

Because it’d been ages; this was Chad; and the larger man worked the Quincy over like they’d had long, intimate discussions on what made Uryuu’s dick leak and body quake and mind burn with heat and white noise. 

When Chad’s mouth finally covered him in slick warmth, it was _still_ a tease, as the lips made a light seal and he kept his tongue out of the equation. Uryuu’d never been this hard and this needy in his entire life, and he sobbed a loud, broken cry.

“Please, oh fucking _GOD_ , Yasu!” Uryuu felt dampness at the corners of his eyes from squeezing them so tightly for so long. 

The lips around his cock slowly and steadily tightened, a hand came over to gently and them more firmly hold and roll his balls, and Uryuu’s eyes flew open when he felt the wet press of Chad’s tongue: flicking, teasing, digging alongside the glide of his mouth.

Uryuu gasped and rose up off the bed as the pleasure crested with a violent thrust toward the peak. Toes, thighs, and cock head tingled and Uryuu shouted in incoherent release and relief as he came into Chad’s mouth with deep, rocking pulses of heat. His body felt over-sensitized and overwrought, and he collapsed down in a twitching, dizzy mess as Chad gently worked him through the tremors, humming softly as he did so. 

Uryuu’s eyes slid shut and his breathing stayed staccato as he felt Chad’s hand and mouth pull away from his body. Chad rained light kisses on Uryuu’s legs and over one hip, making the Quincy shiver. He was about to say something – probably something else to blush about tomorrow – when Chad sat up and back, gripped Uryuu’s leg and side, and flipped him onto his stomach.

Letting out an undignified grunt, Uryuu’s eyes went wide as he felt Chad’s body cover his back. Lips kissed his ear, a hand smoothed back sweaty hair, and the tenderness of it all made him feel more exposed than having Chad’s mouth around his dick. 

And his heart thudded in triple-time as Uryuu felt a heavy length against the back of his leg. 

“Hearing you was amazing,” Chad whispered, happy and pleased. He kissed Uryuu’s shoulder. “Swallowing you was better.”

“Yasu…” Uryuu groaned, shifting a little beneath the weight on his back. He could tell Chad wasn’t resting entirely on him, and the caution was much like the tenderness in its ability to expose and make vulnerable.

“I’ll go slow,” Chad promised, but it did nothing but increase Uryuu’s already rapid heartbeat. “You’ve…done this before?” 

“Yes,” Uryuu answered. 

“How long ago?”

Uryuu frowned a little. “A while,” Uryuu replied. And sighed. “A long while.”

“Then I’ll go slower,” Chad said and licked Uryuu’s ear. 

“I won’t break,” Uryuu grumbled.

Chad surprised him by laughing a little and shifting so his length rubbed against Uryuu. “I would not _try_ to break you unless you asked,” he said quietly. An offer? A suggestion? Uryuu had no idea.

A heady mixture of anxiety, endorphins, and curiosity whipped through Uryuu. But hands smoothed down his sides and teeth nibbled the back of his neck, and Uryuu couldn’t find his words.

“It’s okay,” Chad said gently. “Tell me what you like and what you don’t. But even if you can’t…I’ll know.” That confidence again – the simple surety. 

“I know _you_ , Uryuu…”

Chad’s weight lifted and Uryuu remained silent and still while the other man reached for the nightstand. He removed a container of lube with which Uryuu was not familiar, and Chad fisted the vial full of slow-moving liquid before shifting back to Uryuu.

Uryuu started to breathe heavily even before he felt Chad’s tongue lick the top of his spine. The languid feeling slowly seeped away from his limbs as Chad licked a long, steady line down Uryuu’s backbone. 

And quite suddenly, Uryuu realized what Chad meant to do to him. 

“Yasu-“ Uryuu began, but stopped talking when Chad gripped his hips and pulled back and up, forcing Uryuu onto his knees. His strength was startling, and when he knocked Uryuu’s legs wider on the bed, Uryuu’s mouth fell open and his eyes stared down at the damp sheet below him. He rested on his elbows and called out when he was dragged closer to the edge of the bed, Chad climbing down to kneel in the floor. Uryuu’s mind redlined for a second, and he tried to scramble away. But Chad patiently pulled Uryuu back and positioned him as he wanted. Being manhandled like that was equal parts arousing and infuriating, and it stole Uryuu’s words away temporarily and made him clench his fists.

Hands stroked up the backs of his thighs and then over the cheeks of his ass, and Chad rumbled words again.

“Perfect…so small…so, so, _good_ …”

When a mouth pressed a kiss to his left cheek and hands gripped globes of flesh to spread him wide, Uryuu choked on a noise and felt his legs shake. It wasn’t that he didn’t like rimming. No – that wasn’t it at all. Sure, it was a little disgusting, a lot dirty, and made one intensely…available…to his partner…

...but the truth of the matter was that Uryuu really – truly – _liked_ it. 

Could get off from that sensation alone, hands nowhere near his cock. And it wasn’t something he did with many people…some didn’t want to, and others…Well, he didn’t like to lose it in front of many people.

But Chad…Uryuu shivered and goose flesh broke out over his skin.

_Oh God…oh my God…he’s going to…and then he’ll…oh fuck…_

Hot breath ghosted over Uryuu’s entrance and he heard a murmured, “…will taste so good…” just before the flat of Chad’s tongue licked him from taint to tailbone.

“ _Yasu_!” Uryuu called and immediately nearly bit his lip in two. 

Behind him, Chad hummed happily and Uryuu felt the wet press of tongue circling his entrance. He made quiet noises from behind tightly pressed lips, fighting with himself and refusing to be so damned transparent in his need and enjoyment of this. Some analytical part of him was always eager to tell him that it was odd and –

“Oh…” Uryuu panted harshly with wide eyes as Chad’s tongue pressed over a firm ring and then pushed inside him. “Oh God… _ooooooh_ …”

Thought left, Uryuu’s upper body nearly melted into the bed, and Chad took his time getting Uryuu good and wet and loose. Uryuu could feel the hot muscle sliding in and out of his body, the slide out increasingly longer as more tongue went in. He had no idea how long Chad kept it up before Uryuu’s dick pulsed and twitched back to life, but it was something between mere seconds and ten years.

“So…damn…oh my god…” Uryuu whined – noise startling to himself – and he heard Chad grunt and spread him wider. 

_“Fuck!_ ” Uryuu hissed. He started to push back and into that sensation, breathing chaotic, hands clawing his own arms, eyes closed.

“Please,” Uryuu begged. “Oh god, _oh fuck,_ oh hell… _please_ …”

Warm hands soothed over his skin and still Chad fucked him with his tongue. It was sweet, horrible torture, and Uryuu felt himself flush hot and feverish and crazy. He made noise continuously now, and he was powerless to stop it.

One hand left his body and hazily Uryuu registered that Chad moved. He heard a faint popping noise and didn’t care…couldn’t care about anything.

Slowly Chad withdrew his tongue and kissed down to Uryuu’s balls, licked up his cleft. Uryuu felt something warm and slick coat around his wet and pulsing entrance; the liquid dripping down and making him shudder. 

“Yasu…” Uryuu rasped. “Don’t stop.”

“I won’t,” Chad’s voice reassured him. Uryuu shivered at the finality of the tone, and then shivered again when an extremely slick finger pressed inside his body. There was absolutely no pain – just pressure and a dull feeling of fullness. Chad kissed Uryuu’s skin, licked down the back of his leg. His finger pushed in until Uryuu felt the knuckles of his hand and then slowly withdrew.

“This gets me so damned hot,” Chad groaned, resting his cheek against Uryuu’s ass. “Looking at you…watching my finger fuck you.”

Uryuu didn’t think he’d ever heard anything sexier than Chad talking dirty, and he nearly convulsed as he shoved backward onto Chad’s finger. The larger man grunted and Uryuu felt more of the slick heat drizzle on his skin. And on the next push in, two fingers sank deeply into his body.

“Yes,” Uryuu cried, hands clutching at his own shoulders. He felt himself stretch again without any pain, and he relaxed into the feeling. His body rocked back to meet Chad’s hand, and he didn’t know he was begging until Chad said, “Okay.”

More of the slick stuff, and Chad turned his hand and fingers inside of Uyruu, making the Quincy whine at the sensation. Chad spread the oil with his thumb and then turned his hand again, and it felt odd and good and then unimportant as three fingers gathered into a tight bundle slowly and steadily pushed into Uryuu’s body. He froze, shivered, and winced before sighing loudly. 

“Yasu,” Uryuu breathed. “Feels-“ He broke off in a gasp as Chad deliberately moved and tilted his hand so his fingers pressed carefully against his prostate.

“Oh.”

Chad slid three fingers out, pushed two back in, and pressed and held.

“Oh my _God_.”

The fingers withdrew and then repeated the same patient pattern. Uryuu couldn’t tell one pleasure from another, and his body tried to curl in on itself as his body shook at the careful pressure on his internal walls and gland.

 _“Mm-AH!_ ” Uryuu’s hands clutched at the bed as he pushed up onto all fours. It was too much, too little, and he burned.

“No more…I can’t take it…please, oh please… I can’t _take_ it!” Uryuu cried.

Chad made a soft sound, kissed the back of Uryuu’s leg, and his fingers stopped pressing and moving. Uryuu groaned, growled, sat up, and twisted. One hand wrapped around to grip at the back of Chad’s neck. Dark blue eyes that looked like black mirrors in the dim light met startled, hazy, lusty brown. Uryuu breathed for a second as he saw naked need on Chad’s face, saw the sweat on his forehead, the way his lips parted as he sucked air into his lungs.

“Yasu,” Uryuu said firmly. “Fuck. Me. _Now_.”

Chad made a noise like he’d been sucker punched in the kidney. Uryuu gasped as fingers left his body, hands shoved him forward and then down flat against the bed, and he felt Chad’s knuckles brush his backside as the man guided his length between Uryuu’s cheeks and aligned himself.

The press of Chad’s erection felt imposing for a fraction of a second, and then it gently and carefully moved past the initial rings of muscle and into Uryuu. The oil made everything ridiculously smooth, and Uryuu’s body slowly – so horrifically, terribly, wonderfully slowly – took Chad with a sting that faded into a flutter and sweet clench of internal walls that had both men groaning loud and long.

And the angle was absolute sheer perfection – or maybe Chad was just really damned lucky or good or both – and Uryuu yelled his pleasure in a two-toned cry as Chad’s length pushed and stroked over his prostate.

“Uryuu…my Uryuu,” Chad breathed and then began to move, one hand bracing on the mattress and the other sliding to catch Uryuu’s and entwine their fingers.

Uyruu was beyond words and shuddered hard beneath Chad, trembling, crying out, moaning wordlessly. He didn’t care any longer about anything but the electricity flowing down his spine and the heat building in his gut. It was too good, too much, too everything, and Uryuu happily drowned in a flood of bliss.

A mouth found Uryuu’s neck, and the noises coming from Chad were excruciating in their ability to enflame Uryuu even further. He moaned with every thrust into Uryuu’s body, and whispered his name like a chant. Spanish echoed and tangled around Chad’s words, and Uryuu heard the affection and the love in them.

After an eternity of pleasure so intense it bordered on painful, Chad pulled away and repositioned Uryuu on his back. He carefully propped one of Uryuu’s legs on a broad shoulder, kissed the ankle, and slid back into Uryuu’s body with a soft moan. 

Uryuu reached up a hand to touch Chad’s face, and watching his features contort and his muscular body move as he pumped faster, longer, and carefully harder into Uryuu was too much. 

“Yasu,” Uryuu panted as he moved to meet the thrusts, vision blossoming with colors as the edge of orgasm was suddenly and quickly upon him. “I’m…so…”

“Good, Uryuu…you’re so…damned…good…” Chad gasped and reached a hand to circle around Uryuu and stroke him at a faster tempo than he moved.

“Coming,” Uryuu gasped in shock, eyes wide and on the sweaty face above him. “Oh fuck, Yasu, _shit_ I’m – “

Mouth open in a silent cry, Uryuu rocked against the length inside him and the hand moving on him. The world seemed to expand and then narrow to mere sensation and pleasure. He felt hot seed spill over Chad’s hand and down onto his stomach, and he let go of a choked noise as Chad still moved and groaned above him. Chad’s thrusts were erratic and slightly less cautious, and Uryuu involuntarily clenched down hard on the length inside him.

“Aw, _fuck!_ ” Chad cried. “So tight, so hot, so…it’s…oh… _Uryuu_!” A hand grasped at Uryuu’s leg in a steely grip as Chad came. The Quincy watched, fascinated and humbled by Chad’s clenched eyes and teeth, the moisture on his forehead, his damp hair, by the tense muscles. Uryuu stroked one hand lazily up his arm, watched as his lover’s body stiffened, shook, and then sank down with a pant of relief and sweet ending. Chad caught himself and untangled their limbs enough to collapse into Uyruu’s arms. They were a messy pile of damp, sated, limbs, and it was too hard to do anything but languish in afterglow and rapid heartbeats.

Chad sighed, a content noise. “Uryuu…my Uryuu…”

Uryuu turned his head into Chad’s neck and kissed the skin in front of his mouth. He wriggled a bit and Chad moved enough to let Uryuu out from beneath him. Uryuu winced a little when Chad left his body, but then he found a pillow and shoved it under his head, sleep undeniable and upon him.

~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this story a few years ago, and I confess, it's one of your Demented Tour Guide's favorites. I did it for Imlikat/Yaoiismy on a whim, and also as a reward for a friend of mine for getting through a very difficult language exam. I had so much fun with this one, and the sex scene(s) are still some of my favorites.
> 
> Ain't nothin' better than gettin' it on during a thunderstorm.
> 
> This was my first foray into the Bleach fandom, and, as such, the world is a pseudo-alternate universe. There are brief and casual nods to canon, and it is not set in my go-to AU, Monoshizukanohi, although it's close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades. Regardless, please be kind, as, well... it was my first time and all. *winks*
> 
> "Flood" is posted all over the place, most notably on Y!Gallery and my LiveJournal. There are also audio files, read by myself (as the narrator and Uryuu) and Imlikat (as Chad). We had entirely too much fun doing that. "Flood" also has a side story, "Coming Home," that I wrote a while after the main story was finished, in honor of Imlikat's battle to quit smoking.
> 
> Here be the links, should you be interested:  
> [My Y Gallery](http://www.y-gallery.net/user/darkprism/) \- must be over 18 and have free account.  
> [My LiveJournal](http://demented-dee.livejournal.com) \- check out the side bar for all the stories  
> [Free Audio Download of Flood](http://www.4shared.com/folder/Unh-MNl5/Audio_Readings.html)
> 
> Anyway, I shall be posted all six chapters in quick succession. I hope you enjoy and thank you for reading! The comments, kudos, and all else make my day.
> 
> ♥Dee


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Uryuu Ishida's apartment becomes, he turns to his friend Chad for a place to crash. Angst, chaos, and seven levels of yaoi hell unfurl as Uryuu learns more than anyone else knows about strong, silent, sweet Chad.

Another dream – and this time, Uyruu swayed gently in a hammock. There was a cool breeze blowing that made him shake a little with the cold. And then someone covered one side of his body with a blanket, and he turned into that warmth with a soft sigh.

And he must be near a waterfall because he could hear the rapids running nearby. But that didn’t make much sense…No waterfalls close to…

Lips pressed against his forehead, and Uryuu’s eyes opened to find his view limited to an increasingly-familiar expanse of pectoral muscle.

“There you are,” Chad said softly, kissing Uryuu’s hair. The large man held Uryuu in his arms without effort.

“Where…what?” Uryuu asked groggily. His body felt limp and loose and he was extremely grateful to be carried, though he would never admit it.

“Bath,” Chad explained. Uryuu felt the gentle sway again – movement made by Chad’s long stride – and Uryuu turned his head to see Chad step into the wide bathtub. It was oversized – like they had to fill the space with something larger than the standard tub – and Uryuu thought that must be one of the many reasons Chad liked the loft.

Moving with a grace that belied his size, Chad gently sank down onto his knee and then backside, holding Uryuu carefully as he did so. The water was warm on Uryuu’s skin, and Chad leaned back and positioned Uryuu across his legs, bracing Uryuu’s back with a bent knee. 

Beneath Uryuu’s cheek, Chad’s chest rose and fell in a sigh. The lower half of Uryuu’s body was in the water, the upper half was cradled by and against Chad, and he felt himself doze back off for some indeterminate amount of time.

Movement and a warm cloth on his skin woke Uryuu up, and he fidgeted a little. The water was off, higher now, and still very warm. 

“Awake?” Chad asked quietly. He smoothed the washcloth over Uryuu’s shoulder and then down the front of his body. 

“Mostly,” Uryuu mumbled. 

“Have some things to say,” Chad said. Uryuu blinked, vision blurry without his glasses. 

“Okay,” Uryuu said, momentarily distracted as Chad began to wash his inner thighs, moving him easily when he needed more access. It was just _strange_ to be shifted and manipulated like that – like a child in a way, but the touches did not inspire thoughts of innocence in Uryuu. They inspired lust.

“I’ve wanted last night for a long time,” Chad said, voice a low rumble. 

Uryuu nodded a little, trying not to gasp as Chad continued to clean him. “S-so you said.”

Chad grunted and shifted Uryuu higher on his body, and he hooked one of Uryuu’s legs over a wide hand to spread him and clean in more intimate detail. Uryuu felt he should stop the man – for crying out loud, he could wash himself – but it felt…and he was getting…

_Since when does a washcloth get me fucking hard?_

Granted, there was also Chad’s casual splay of his body and working hands, but…still.

“I’ve been interested in you since we met,” Chad continued. 

“Why didn’t you say – _nnaah_ – so?” If Chad would stop probing tender skin with nimble fingers and the damned cloth, perhaps Uryuu could bloody concentrate.

“I didn’t think you’d be interested. And I wasn’t always so comfortable with myself and who and what I wanted,” Chad answered simply. “It’s not easy for me to talk about much of anything.”

“Noticed,” Uryuu said and gave up trying not to gasp as water and cloth lapped at him. Chad rolled him slightly onto his back with a low noise. Uryuu bit back a little yelp as Chad let go of Uryuu’s left leg so that it rested over Chad’s left thigh and against the wall. Chad moved Uryuu’s right leg so it was in a similar position. Uryuu’s head rested back against Chad’s shoulder and he made another noise entirely as Chad cupped a large hand over his half-hard length, just touching and holding.

“Easier for me to do than to speak,” Chad husked. 

Uryuu had a few comments on that, but none of them managed to make it from brain to tongue. It felt like he might burst at the gentle touch and sheer exposure. It was new and distractingly delicious. And for a moment, the two stayed like that: the holding and the held. 

But Uryuu’s brain nagged at him, and he needed to confess a few things, too. Now seemed like quite possibly the best and worst time.

“I looked in the crate under your bed,” Uryuu said in a rush. He tensed.

But Chad just hummed a little and didn’t reply.

“You have some of my things.”

Chad nodded.

Uryuu didn’t let himself think too long about the words. It was easier to just speak fast and honestly – like ripping verbal bandages off his tongue.

“I like that you have those things. But I’m sorry I pried.”

“Don’t be,” Chad said, finally. “Like I said…I’ve seen you. For a long time.”

Uryuu relaxed and Chad breathed deeply. Uryuu felt overwhelmed by both what Chad said and by how right it felt to Uryuu. Like he’d been going around with shadows over parts of himself and now Chad threw a switch and illuminated it all to make shapes and sense.

_Breathe…just…breathe. And stop being such a fucking girl._

Uryuu rolled his eyes at himself and then got distracted from thoughts and self-deprecation when Chad’s hand moved minutely, fingertip brushing over tender entrance.

“I’m sorry about Renji. I had words with him.”

Uryuu swallowed. “Is he in one piece?”

Chad chuckled and lightly squeezed the swollen skin beneath his hand. “Yes.”

“I wasn’t angry.” Uryuu marveled at their size difference, eyes flicking down to see Chad’s hand easily span cock and balls with room to spare. 

“You weren’t?” 

“No. Little grateful. I was trying to figure out if you felt something for me…figure out what I felt for you.” 

“I got good at hiding things,” Chad whispered, and his fingers shifted to lightly trace Uryuu’s length.

“But Renji knew,” Uryuu managed to point out.

“He’s a perceptive jackass who remembers too much after we get drunk,” Chad grumbled, and Uryuu coughed a little laugh at the bitterness in Chad’s voice.

“That’s…Renji, yes,” Uryuu said, eyes down and watching Chad’s fingers make his nerves sing.

Chad sighed – content, aroused, relaxed – and slowly began to stroke Uryuu with a loose ring of thumb and forefinger. His other hand came up to touch and stroke at the skin along Uryuu’s jaw and throat, and his head turned inward so that his lips brushed Uryuu's cheek as he spoke. 

“I was really happy when you came to stay. Didn’t – don’t – want you to go. I think the gods must be on my side because your apartment keeps getting worse not better.” He paused and made Uryuu writhe a little as he explored head and vein and sensitive spots with careful fingers. 

“I didn’t know how to say anything to you. And then you told me you’re bi, and things got even better. And you liked looking at me, so I went around in the buff when I could. But you didn’t…do anything. Seemed embarrassed by me and kept changing in the bathroom.” He stopped to kiss Uryuu’s cheek, the stubble along his upper lip lightly scraping Uryuu’s skin. “You have no idea how hard it was to not just burst in to watch. I’ve wanted to see you – all of you – for forever.”

Had Chad ever spoken this much to him in one sitting? Uryuu had no idea – didn’t think so – but the hand working him and the voice rumbling were making him into a liquid version of himself. He gripped at Chad’s hip under the water and at his bent elbow above it.

“Then Renji happened, and I thought you’d be so angry. And I missed you at the gig. But didn’t know what to do again. I’m not stupid, but I didn’t want to piss you off. Or make you run away. I just wanted more of the way you looked when you saw your sewing machine on my desk. More of the way you look when you’re sleeping.”

Uryuu made a little noise. “You watch me…” He breathed. “Sleep?”

Chad nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“No…don’t…stop…” The hand moving along his shaft was building a slow fire – a _very_ slow fire. Uryuu didn’t think such a thing could feel so damned good.

“I sleep better when you’re nearby,” Chad whispered, and Uryuu thought he might lose his mind at all the confessions and the vulnerable position and the hand between his legs. Heady, strange…incredible.

“But what I want to say is that for me, there’s not anybody but you.”

“Donovan?” 

“I’ve slept with people but not…nothing like last night.”

“Me either,” Uryuu managed and swallowed on a dry throat.

“I think – no.” Chad’s body seemed to contract around Uryuu. “I love you. Please don’t let that upset you.”

“Yasu, if you keep doing _that_ , nothing’s going to upset me.” Uryuu’s eyelids fluttered and his body began to protest the speed. Self-consciousness lost the battle to hormones, and Uryuu wanted more; faster, harder… _Now._

Chad’s hand paused and then resumed as he laughed. “That’s the idea. Glad it worked.”

Uryuu blinked up at the ceiling. “I didn’t peg you for – _mm-hm, yeah like that_ – manipulative.”

“When I have to be,” Chad said. 

A pause, the sounds of water and flesh-moving-flesh and shortening breaths…

“Ya-Yasu… _please_.”

“I love that you call me that. Keep doing it.”

Uryuu made a strangled sound that echoed on the tile. His breathing was picking up pace, and he was going to start screaming if Chad didn’t start working him faster.

“Love the noises, too,” Chad whispered. “You on the couch with that pillow and moaning in your sleep. God…” Chad shivered under Uryuu, and it damn near unraveled Uryuu's sanity.

“Yasu, for fuck’s sake…” 

The hand along Uryuu’s jaw turned his head, and a warm mouth covered Uryuu’s in a heated kiss. He was a little stunned to taste peppermint, eyes opening only to flutter shut again. The kiss continued and Chad’s hand began to tighten and stroke slowly but surely faster. It was maddening until finally he reached the perfect tension and rhythm, and Uryuu moaned and panted harshly through his nose.

“Like that,” Chad murmured, pulling back just far enough to speak before his lips crushed against Uryuu’s again and the hand on Uryuu’s cock moved with that precise tension and stroke. 

_Oh HELL yes like that!_

Neurons snap-sizzle-fried, and Uryuu couldn’t speak so he groaned in appreciation, letting his hips move to meet Chad’s push and pull. He finally had to break the kiss to find oxygen, and Chad’s hand turned his head so he could attack Uryuu’s ear and neck.

Moaning tangled sounds of encouragement and need, Uryuu gasped and shuddered under the onslaught. 

“Want to hear you again,” Chad whispered in Uryuu’s ear. 

“Yasu – Christ…I’m…”

“Yeah.” The word was a knowing, heated hiss in his ear, and Uryuu’s face flushed when he realized Chad watched him closely. The gaze, the water, the words, and the hand were quickly and suddenly too much.

_Oh fucking –_

“ _Shit!_ ” Uryuu was shocked at how high and needy his voice was and then didn’t give a damn as he came for Chad again, long legs tensing over Chad’s and body spilling over his fist. His eyes rolled back and he clutched hard at Chad’s hip and arm as the waves took him up, over, and then to shore.

Chad crooned in his ear, stroking gently, and Uryuu shuddered as he came down, body growing pliant and soft. 

_If we keep this up, I’m going to have to start training for the damned bedroom. And bathroom. And possibly the warehouse._

The thought made Uryuu chuckle in surprise and amazement, and he felt Chad smile against his cheek.

~*~

Uryuu walked up the metal steps to the second storey of the warehouse with a practiced run. It was late, but he’d managed to finish all the work at the office. The theatre was putting on _Romeo and Juliet_ and while Uryuu hated the damned play, he loved making all the costumes and overseeing the fittings.

Trotting down the hall, Uryuu felt a couple of butterflies flutter in his stomach at the thought of seeing Chad. He was back from a week-long stint in the studio recording A Lovely Death’s second album, and Uryuu wanted nothing more than to get lost in body, limb, and release until dawn.

Uryuu threw open the door to find the loft lit entirely by candles.

_Romantic fool._

With an indulgent roll of dark blue eyes, Uryuu kicked off his shoes as his eyes roamed looking for a familiar, large form.

“Hey,” Chad’s voice said from Uryuu’s right. He stood framed by the bathroom doorway, entirely nude, hard, and skin dancing from flickering flames.

“Welcome home.”

Uryuu hooked his bag in its usual spot on the coat rack and smiled knowingly at his lover. 

“I missed you,” Uryuu said as he approached Chad.

“I want you.”

“Then take what you want,” Uryuu invited.

“Gladly.”

Lips met, bodies moved, and when the sun rose, it found the two men wrapped in a big bed surrounded by gauzy curtains that kept them safe from the world.

~*~

_/fine_

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this story a few years ago, and I confess, it's one of your Demented Tour Guide's favorites. I did it for Imlikat/Yaoiismy on a whim, and also as a reward for a friend of mine for getting through a very difficult language exam. I had so much fun with this one, and the sex scene(s) are still some of my favorites.
> 
> Ain't nothin' better than gettin' it on during a thunderstorm.
> 
> This was my first foray into the Bleach fandom, and, as such, the world is a pseudo-alternate universe. There are brief and casual nods to canon, and it is not set in my go-to AU, Monoshizukanohi, although it's close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades. Regardless, please be kind, as, well... it was my first time and all. *winks*
> 
> "Flood" is posted all over the place, most notably on Y!Gallery and my LiveJournal. There are also audio files, read by myself (as the narrator and Uryuu) and Imlikat (as Chad). We had entirely too much fun doing that. "Flood" also has a side story, "Coming Home," that I wrote a while after the main story was finished, in honor of Imlikat's battle to quit smoking.
> 
> Here be the links, should you be interested:  
> [My Y Gallery](http://www.y-gallery.net/user/darkprism/) \- must be over 18 and have free account.  
> [My LiveJournal](http://demented-dee.livejournal.com) \- check out the side bar for all the stories  
> [Free Audio Download of Flood](http://www.4shared.com/folder/Unh-MNl5/Audio_Readings.html)
> 
> Anyway, I shall be posted all six chapters in quick succession. I hope you enjoy and thank you for reading! The comments, kudos, and all else make my day.
> 
> ♥Dee


End file.
